David Talbot, the guiding force behind Salon since its creation, has given up two of his titles-- editor in chief and chief executive -- just as the darned thing is showing a profit.

An excerpt from the BizReport.com story:

Talbot, a pioneer of online journalism, remains chairman of the board of Salon Media Group Inc. He relinquished the chief executive role to Elizabeth Hambrecht, who joined Salon in April 2003 as chief financial officer and was named company president seven months later.

Joan Walsh, Salon's former senior vice president and managing editor, is the new editor in chief.

"It's an excellent time for me to move into a new role," said Talbot, who is working on a book about John and Robert Kennedy. "Betsy and Joan have been part of the leadership team that brought Salon new fiscal and editorial life, and I'm proud to be able to leave Salon in their hands."

Talbot founded Salon in 1995 and helped steer the seminal and unabashed, liberal-leaning online publication as it rode the dot-com wave, launched its initial public offering of stock in 1999, then struggled to remain a viable business, shifting from being a free online magazine to a hybrid subscription-based, advertising-sponsored one.