Thomas Frank, Author and Historian, Will Join Salon

Salon Media Group said Tuesday that it was hiring Thomas Frank, the historian and author best known for his book “What’s the Matter With Kansas,” to write feature articles every Sunday as well as weigh in on current events as warranted.

“I see him fulfilling a role similar to Frank Rich at New York Magazine,” said David Daley, Salon’s executive editor.

Mr. Frank will give up his “Easy Chair” column at Harper’s Magazine, which he has written since 2010, but may occasionally write for the magazine in the future.

Salon portrayed the hiring as the latest in the movement of big media personalities from legacy media organizations to digital properties. Among those who have moved online recently are Katie Couric, who left CBS for Yahoo; Ezra Klein, who is leaving The Washington Post for Vox Media; and Bill Keller, the New York Times columnist and former executive editor, who just announced that he was departing to run a nonprofit website on the criminal justice system....