Slate’s making money

Slate took in more money than it spent last quarter. That doesn’t mean they’ve paid back the $20 million that Microsoft invested in them or justified all the free promotion that MSN gave them, but it’s great news for a number of reasons.

• It’s remarkable that they did it in the very slow first quarter of the year. That bodes well for them as the online ad market warms up.
• Microsoft is a lot less likely to pull the plug at some point now that they’re not losing more money every day they operate.
• They did it by producing thoughtful content.
• It gives us some hope that Salon will be able to make it past their current difficulties.
• This should give some encouragement to those who believe that we’ll all be better off if Web content is free.

Congratulations, Slate!