General Manager Is Replaced in a Reorganization at CNN(He's from LOCAL news & only 36!CNN's doomed!)

The New York Times ^ | September 16, 2003 | Jim Ruternberg

[Timesink]

September 16, 2003

General Manager Is Replaced in a Reorganization at CNN

By JIM RUTENBERG

railing in the ratings behind the Fox News Channel, CNN announced a reorganization yesterday meant to help it produce more compelling news programs.

The changes include a management reshuffling in which Teya Ryan, the general manager of CNN's domestic network, will step down. She is to be succeeded by a Viacom executive, Princell Hair, whose main experience has been in local television news.

The main change, said Jim Walton, CNN's president, is a fundamental shift in the way CNN collects its news.

The network has traditionally relied on a central news-gathering operation that made the main decisions on what to cover for all of CNN. Producers for the various CNN networks and programs had to pick reports from among its daily offerings — even if they did not quite suit their program plans.

Now that news operation, formerly under CNN's chief news executive, Eason Jordan, is to be decentralized, freeing individual producers and network executives to decide which news events they want to cover.

Under the new structure Mr. Jordan, who has spent his career at the network, will retain his chief news executive title. He will continue to focus on securing CNN's access in foreign countries, executives said, while also developing projects and possibly appearing sometimes on television.

Ms. Ryan is known within the network for having a stern management style that sometimes puts her at fierce odds with some producers. Ms. Ryan said if she comes off as stern it was because, "I have a strong vision and I'm also a producer."

Mr. Walton said in a conference call with reporters yesterday that the new structure was less suited to Ms. Ryan's skills, which fall more on the side of the production of programs than they do on the managing of news resources.

"It was pretty clear to me that we needed to bring somebody in who had the ability to lead and motivate and manage," he said, adding that given Ms. Ryan's passion for production "We agreed that it would probably be best to look to change."

But the naming of her successor, Mr. Hair, surprised competing news executives because he is mostly unknown and relatively young at 36.

He was most recently the vice president in charge of news for Viacom's 39 stations. Before that he was news director at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, WBAL-TV in Baltimore and WMAQ-TV in Chicago.

Mr. Walton said local news was a good training ground for Mr. Hair because, like cable news, it is highly competitive, requires the management of brand-name talent and produces many hours of newscasts daily.

Some reporters on the conference call asked yesterday whether Mr. Hair would bring to CNN all that local news is known for — sensational news coverage, promotion and ratings stunts.

Mr. Hair said he would not.

"What local news does, local news does," he said. "This is a different animal."

Mr. Hair did not exactly exalt his old stomping grounds, saying, "My background is local news, but I'm a journalist at heart."

[Timesink]

Directionless, hopeless, screwed.

Schadenfreude!

[Timesink]

Schadenfreude

This is the New York Times CNN Schadenfreude Ping List. Freepmail me to be added or dropped.

[OldFriend]

Hey, how about bring Christianne Ammanpour on for an hour a day. Ought to be just the thing!!!

[MEG33]

LOL!

[Recovering_Democrat]

Now that news operation, formerly under CNN's chief news executive, Eason Jordan, is to be decentralized, freeing individual producers and network executives to decide which news events they want to cover.

BWA HA HA HA HA!

You know, if they just tried a simple approach: fair & balanced. It might work, ya never know.

[Paul Atreides]

Teya Ryan...Princell Hair...Eason Jordan...what is this, Dynasty?

[martin_fierro]

[AD from SpringBay]

This is a corporate mouth-piece and/or puppet - nothing more.

[Tall_Texan]

Anyone want to guess which minority group somebody with a first name like "Princell" belongs to?

If re-shuffling the organizational chart was going to fix CNN's problems, it would have happened last year about 17 re-organizations ago.

Of course, liberals never think that the real problem could be that they are too liberal...

[Paul Atreides]

Walton Disagrees with Amanpour About Iraq Coverage


CNN President Jim Walton on Monday rejected criticism by Christiane Amanpour, the cable network's veteran correspondent, of TV coverage of the war in Iraq. Appearing on CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown last week, Amanpour remarked, "I think the press was muzzled and I think the press self-muzzled. I'm sorry to say but certainly television and, perhaps, to a certain extent, my station was intimidated by the administration and its foot soldiers at Fox News." Walton told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he had talked to Amanpour about her remarks but insisted, "I'm proud of CNN's coverage around the war. ... Christiane speaks for herself." Today's New York Post quoted a Fox News spokeswoman as remarking, "It's better to be viewed as a foot soldier for Bush than a spokeswoman for al Qaeda."

[My Favorite Headache]

LOL

[Windcatcher]

(shrug) I deprogrammed both CNN and Headline News last night, after hearing Christiana Amanpour's crack about FNC as "Bush's footsoldiers". My TV skips right from channel 25 to 28 now, so who cares what they do?

[Old Sarge]

Anyone want to guess which minority group somebody with a first name like "Princell" belongs to?

Careful, FRiend, the Thought Police will get you if you don't watch out.

Or the Fresno HRC...

[Cheapskate]

"Well now, I will watch from the shoreline as The USS CCP CNN sinks slowly into the sunset.

My question is;

What will they sing as the garbage scow goes down to davy jones' locker?

Nearer My God To Thee? oops they have no god, that won't work.

Knockin On Heaven's Door? That dog won't hunt.

Any Ideas???

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

What will they sing as the garbage scow goes down to davy jones' locker?

Probably some hippy crap.

CNN has a formula to combat their loss of viewers. More liberalism. Hiring somebody who has the common sense to abandon that model could save them, but I don't think they can do it.

[Enterprise]

"Ms. Ryan is known within the network for having a stern management style that sometimes puts her at fierce odds with some producers.

Translation: Don't make waves, don't make decisions, stifle creativity, and always always suck up to your superiors.

[Enterprise]

I know, I know - "The Whipping Post."

"Sometimes I feel, sometimes I feel, like I been tied to the Whipping Post. Greg Allman band.

[Enterprise]

Well, she might be on to something about feet. FOX might be Bush's foot soldiers, and CNN might be Hillary's foot lickers. (I wonder if Dick Morris ever sucked Hillary's toes BTW)

[Windcatcher]

Ahhhh! I do *not* need that image running around my head!!!

[Enterprise]

It's TOO LATE! All night long now all you will dream about is watching movies of Dick Morris sucking Hillary's toes!