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 base din 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.

Article source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/wired-magazines-editor-chris-anderson-to-step-down/?partner=rss&emc=rss