After a disagreement over changing business direction, Edge Online’s editorial staff has decided to part ways with the company.
The staff of 3 put in their resignation in December and have been “[…] working out an agreed notice period.” since then.The argument apparently stemmed from the control of the site being shifted from its native San Francisco to (Edge Owner) Future UK’s home office in England. In his new blog, former editor in chief Colin Campbell vents his feelings on the abrupt shift in power: “This middle manager outlined some changes he wanted to make; in my view, a gumbo of old media thinking, rampant cost-cutting and ego-driven control mechanisms.”
Campbell’s major complaint stemmed from management’s insistence on treating the site as an extension of the magazine as opposed to an independent entity with the same editorial voice. He also disagreed with the company’s insistence on integrating the site and magazine:
“Although the Edge voice ought to be maintained throughout all its activities, any attempt to reshape a dynamic daily website in the image of a monthly print magazine is conceptually and practically highly problematic.”
After seeing other magazine and website combinations like 1UP and EGM falter, Campbell may have the right idea. Campbell insists that the internet has altered games journalism into more of a conversation and less of a one sided, reader/writer relationship. Campbell obviously feels that a print magazine is simply incapable of supporting reader interaction and input the way a site can. In the meantime, Edge Online will be maintained by the print division’s deputy editor Alex Wiltshire.
Source: www.GameBizBlog.com (Via Kotaku)
