Media Decoder Blog: Wired Magazine's Editor, Chris Anderson, to Step Down

Kevin Moloney for The New York Times Chris Anderson, who is leaving as the editor of Wired magazine, in 2011 with one of his airplane drones.

Chris Anderson, the editor in chief of Wired magazine, is leaving to devote more time to the drone company he has been developing.

Mr. Anderson, who joined Wired in 2001, said on Friday that he would leave by the end of the year to work full time on running his start-up, 3D Robotics, which is based in San Diego. According to the company’s Web site, it designs personal drones for private customers.

“This is an opportunity for me to pursue an entrepreneurial dream,” Mr. Anderson said in a statement. “I’m confident that Wired’s mission to influence and chronicle the digital revolution is stronger than ever and will continue to expand and evolve.”

In an interview in December with Tabitha Soren for Bloomberg News, Mr. Anderson said he had been working on the company for three years. He said that he expected there would be plenty of demand in the private market for drones and that they ultimately could replace the more costly helicopters.

Mr. Anderson said he used a drone to check out the Google campus. Drones, he said, “don’t get bored. They don’t charge overtime. They’re not unionized.”

Wired has had some growth in advertising dollars and a steady rise in circulation as other magazines have been struggling. Anderson told Bloomberg that his company was profitable by its third year.

“We sell products for more than they cost,” said Mr. Anderson.

Media Decoder: Anderson Cooper Talk Show Won't Return for a Third Season

Ali Goldstein/Warner Brothers Anderson Cooper during a taping of his show “Anderson.”

The syndication arm of the Warner Brothers studio has decided that there will not be a third season of “Anderson,” the daily talk show hosted by Anderson Cooper.

Citing disappointing ratings, a studio executive, who insisted on not being identified because the studio had planned no official release on the decision, said on Monday that the entire talk television market has been struggling to build audiences. Mr. Cooper’s show, which is produced by Telepictures, will end after the summer of 2013.

The executive spoke because some of the stations that have been carrying Mr. Cooper’s show have begun making feelers about replacement shows, and the news was certain to leak out through one of them, the executive said.

The Warner Brothers syndication unit issued a statement on Monday:

“We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced. While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through. We will continue to deliver top-quality shows throughout next summer.”

Mr. Cooper released his own statement:

“I am very proud of the work that our terrific staff has put into launching and sustaining our show for two seasons. I am also grateful to Telepictures for giving me the opportunity, and indebted to viewers, who have responded so positively. I look forward to doing more great shows this season, and though I’m sorry we won’t be continuing, I have truly enjoyed it.”

The decision was not a reflection of any lack of faith in Mr. Cooper, the executive said, but an acknowledgement of the business realities in daytime talk television.

The studio “could have renewed the show but could not create a viable economic business model to move forward,” the executive said.

Even Katie Couric’s much anticipated new talk show has not yet emerged as a bona fide hit, the executive said. And new shows with other hosts, including Jeff Probst and Ricki Lake, have fared poorly.

But Mr. Cooper, who is also a mainstay in prime time on CNN, had been expected to be a star in daytime talk when his show started last fall. After one year with sub-par ratings, the studio and Mr. Cooper instituted a series of changes including stressing same-day tapings as often as possible to deal with breaking subjects, and a new location for the studio.

Mr Cooper was on assignment for CNN in New Jersey Monday, covering Hurricane Sandy.

Bill Carter writes about the television industry. Follow @wjcarter on Twitter.