Posted on 04/30/2005 6:09:09 AM PDT by Pokey78
During Jon Klein's weekly airborne commute Thursday from New York to Atlanta, one of his prized employees announced her impending departure from CNN.
Klein was aware of Judy Woodruff's plans, but her decision to go public brought home the fact that the cable news network, where he serves as U.S. president, is undergoing a sea change.
Yet it's not programs or on-air personnel that Klein fixated on throughout an interview Friday. (For the record: "Inside Politics," the afternoon show anchored by Woodruff, will be re-evaluated as Klein considers alternative ways to cover doings in D.C.)
It's how CNN presents the news.
"Dramatically different, certainly in our prime-time approach," contends Klein, 47, who has done the New York-Atlanta shuttle — here one day, gone the next — most weeks since stepping into the revolving-door job in December.
"When I got here, we were doing just straight newscasts with two-minute-long pieces. The problem with that approach is by [midevening], the public already knows what happened. You've got to go beyond the headlines.
"That's what Fox [News] has been doing — discussing stories that you're already familiar with. Now we've started doing stories in our way, not just by talking about them but reporting them in greater depth."
And, with un-CNN-like techniques. One reporter, in a story on a device that shocks the body with an electrical charge, strapped on the belt and absorbed a few thousand volts.
Another, following up on the drowning of a prop plane pilot, donned a survival suit and, accompanied by the Coast Guard, flopped into the lake — where he delivered his report.
"There is a big difference between that and a clown," Klein says. "Reporters must be less stiff, less imperious, less above-it-all, less condescending. More involved and passionate in the stories they do."
Klein's gospel: Pounce on a story and explore it from every angle.
"We do a better job of identifying what the most important stories are and throwing more resources at them," he says, citing Terri Schiavo and the Atlanta courthouse shootings as examples. "No one can compete with us when we do that. We saw that in the tsunami, the pope. We want to keep hammering away, smothering a story. That's how we put our resources to use instead of spreading ourselves thinly over a variety of stories, many of which are inconsequential."
Klein acknowledges that Nielsen ratings do not reflect what he considers upgraded news treatment.
While CNN has celebrated scattered head-to-head victories on given nights, it still trails Fox News substantially in the big picture. Since Klein's hiring, his rival has widened its lead.
"We're winning the quality war already, not the ratings war," he says. "About a year from now, we should be able to establish consistent ratings growth."
Klein maintains that his philosophy is easier to sell to a staff competing against white-hot Fox News. Resistance to change has been "far less" than he braced for.
"We've been getting our clocks cleaned the last few years by Fox," he says. "If we were No. 1, we'd be a lot more conservative in how we embrace ... the new modes of connecting to viewers.
"These are smart professionals here who are tired of being in second place. They want to be No. 1 in the hearts and minds of viewers — as well as in the Nielsen books."
First, he says, the makeover on relaying the news must be completed.
"It's not consistently where I want it to be. Probably 50 percent. On any given night, half of what we do is right on target, the other half is what we need to work on."
Maybe they'll think a "Fair and Balanced" approach is appropriate. What a stunning development THAT would be.
As long as they're going "in-depth" with Liberal Bores like Jeff Greenfield, Aaaron Brown, and Paula Zahn they will continue to trail FOX by a wide margin.
You'll get nowhere in the ratings war until you lose the bias.
CHANGES @ CNN...its' highly unlikely, as long as they adhere to their Liberal Mantras..
CNN can get some big time ratings if they will do an in-depth story each day about the crimes of the Clintons. Even though I don't watch TV and don't have cable, I'd re-install it and watch that sucker. Let's see a couple hours on Juanita Broaddrick, CNN. Start telling the truth and you will have a product people might buy.
..It (may) never happen, b/c it would show/lay bare the entire "mindset" of the Political/Media class in the U.S. on what the Liberals really think of "the Best Jim Wright voice: (Your Stupid/Dumb/Lazy..We're here to help you) American Middle Class", it'll cost them alot of votes/political offices..and w/ the Nat. Election in '06/'08, $hrillary won't approve of It.
Here's a simple way for CNN to beat Fox ...
become the 'celebrity scandal-and-crime-trial-free news channel'
I'm sick and tired of the wasted bandwidth over Jacko's trial , then previously the scott peterson case ... as if this was some sort of national issue.
Fox canget too tabloid at times, and CNN is hopeless only because they cant see through their own liberal bias.
I think the "ratings war" between Fox and CNN will continue to reflect the voting pattern of the American public. Normal, working, taxpaying, traditional American families (Republicans) will continue to prefer Fox while the rest of the people will continue to prefer CNN.
They think this is why Fox News is number one in the ratings?
Please....
All this means is that they will say the same old liberal shiite except slower and louder because they think that will appeal to the Fox audience "hillbillies" they hate and look down on but still covet.
Jon (from See BS) or Joe (of Time Magazie) Klein ..is there a difference?
It is a statistical assurity that at any time, any day of the week, somewhere, in some newspaper across the country, magazine, or journal, there will be an article describing the new "changes" being made at CNN that will asuredly win them the ratings war over time.
I wonder, after several years of this, if they beginning to get the least bit bored of it.
Yes this is what they hope the problem is, but we all know that is not the case. CNN ratings will continue to tank because they rather lose their business then be fair and balanced.
I'm sure glad he told me that. Before he said that, I thought all of the CNN reporters were clowns.
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