David Talbot

The entire American media apparatus bought into the drug war - which is an enormously damaging and costly undertaking for this country - and there wasn't enough critical reporting about it and that's why it's gotten out of hand. ”

While I'm critical to the Bush presidency, it's been enormously beneficial for Salon because we're seen as kind of an aggressive watchdog on the Bush White House. Particularly since Florida, our readership hit a whole new level, and we held onto those readers. ”

Journalism is not just a cause, it's also a wacky profession. ”

I came at age in the '60s, and initially my hopes and dreams were invested in politics and the movements of the time - the anti-war movement, the civil rights movement. I worked on Bobby Kennedy's campaign for president as a teenager in California and the night he was killed. ”

I don't think we would still be here if we hadn't gone public. ”

Other than that one year, Salon has been very cautious about the way it spends money. For instance, since last year, we've had virtually no marketing budget. It's just word of mouth. And our circulation continues to grow that way by breaking news stories. ”

You can crash on one set of rocks or the other set of rocks, and they crashed on the other set of rocks, which was probably being too little to be commercially viable. ”

My favorite thing is still journalism. I'm almost 50. This has been my life ever since I was in college. ”

I have no regrets about launching Salon. For the life of me, I can't imagine doing anything else. ”

Most Sunday magazines, with the New York Times as an exception, are kind of sleepy, weekend service vehicles to move living room products. ”