Salmon's off
Act I: On Monday, 26 March 2007, Felix Salmon announced that he was to blog for the new business glossy Portfolio. "I've signed on as the finance blogger for portfolio.com, which goes live in mid-April. It's a big commitment for me — it really is a full-time job, although I don't need to go into the office, or anything like that..."
Act II: On Thursday, 12 March 2009, Brad de Long announced Felix Salmon Joining Reuters Opinion Start-Up. "I'm going to be the person going, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, blog, it's great,' and I'm going to be the person saying, 'Of course you can do that, and, no, you don't need me to edit it, and the faster you can put it up the better, and don't worry about being wrong'"...
Act III: On Monday, 27 April 2009, Felix Salmon announced Conde Nast Portfolio closes. "Very sad news this morning that Conde Nast Portfolio is closing. They were a wonderful home to me for two years, and I feel particularly bad for the amazing Ryan Avent, who's got off to a truly smashing start at Market Movers and who looks to have jumped ship from the Economist at exactly the wrong time. But he's chock-full of talent, and I'm sure will find an even more fabulous job soon."
Intermission: Ryan Avent was in tip-top form last October, producing delightful posts such as Adventures in Icelandic Monetary Policy. But Portfolio had become a bit too Icelandic for its owner Condé Nast by then and the magazine that was launched in April 2007 with such great expectations was in mortal danger of sinking as Ryan climbed on board. When it closed, to the anguish of its talented staff (and Tina Brown), an incredible $100 million (!) had been burned.
Act IV: In a sign of the times, the Felix Salmon slot on the Rainy Day blogroll has been handed over to Guido Fawkes. Politics is the new finance.
