Engadget loses its second editor in two days: Ross Miller resigns

Engadget will be saying farewell to its second editor in the space of a week after its Associate Editor Ross Miller announced he was to leave the popular technology website after five years of service with Weblogs, Inc.

Detailing his reasons in a Tumblr blog post, Miller stated that the AOL way wasnt the only reason behind his departure but mentions it certainly added to the list of concerns he had about Engadgets future direction. Miller seems to worry about how Engadgets brand is affected by AOLs new content strategy and how much control its staff will have over the site if it does indeed go down the content farm route.

Miller writes:

As for the reasons why, I wont get too far into it. The AOL Way isnt the sole reason, but its certainly a catalyst, a symptom of concerns Ive had for a while. I worry about the long-term viability of what I foresee is the future business model. How our brand will be affected and how much control well maintain over it. If we can continue to nurture the talent without burning them out. If we can get the needed resources to expand on our ideas. (Update: just to be clear, Engadget is not currently subject to the AOL Way, and I dont know if it ever will fall under the jurisdiction, so to speak. Its not the driving reason I left.)

An interesting part to note is that Miller states Engadget is not currently part of the AOL way. Engadgets editor-in-chief Joshua Topolsky also makes the distinction in a tweet, stating I cant be any more direct its not happening here:

Ross Millers announcement follows the resignation of Paul Miller, who made the decision to leave Engadget, posting his own blog entry on Friday.

Voicing his displeasure at AOLs reluctance to assist Engadgets evolution, Ross Miller believes that AOL has its heart in the wrong place with content and that it sees content as a commodity it can sell ads against which doesnt promote good journalism.

At the moment, it looks like AOLs way is proving to be the highway as some of the most important individuals behind one of the worlds hardest working and most authoritative technology websites are leaving the company, questioning AOLs ethics and long term vision.

Ross Miller says Hey, Im not leaving the industry. Well be in touch. we wish him the best of luck in whatever he does in the future.Image Credit


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