I would probably take Sean with a BIG grain of salt on that, especially since he left a while ago and a lot of things have changed since then. We got rid of Answers of the Day because it was too much like a listicle, and I haven't been told to do a list in years. I don't think anyone actually in editorial right now is pro-list. We don't do annoying slideshows, either. There are rare exceptions where a list might work, but no one's been gung-ho for lists in years. (Under previous editors, sure, there was a little list action. But it's been a looooooong time.) And again, I'll reiterate that it's in our actual contract with the company that advertising and editorial are separate. You know, as someone who's still around and actually read the damn thing.
Sean didn't exactly leave on friendly terms, either. Usually I wouldn't comment on another person's employment out of professional courtesy, but Sean's made that very public on his own. So, I'm not surprised that he's a bit negative about the experience. (FWIW, that's not meant as a ding against him, either—I wish him luck wherever he lands next.)
There's a need to build an audience for a site, but raw numbers have never been the focus over quality and accuracy. We've even been told to ease off of the quick mayhem/crash posts on some days because, uh, we're not crashlopnik. Some wild crash vids here and there are fine; we share bizarre things that happen as part of the job. Too many wild crash vids and it can overshadow more important original work. There's a balance.
But hey! Believe what you want, even if it makes about as much sense on my end as someone who's railing about the illuminati turning the frogs gay. You're also welcome to avoid reading the site if you'd rather seek the safe space of an FCA fan forum somewhere.