By Kevin McCauley
CNN today replaced president Jonathan Klein with Ken Jautz, who heads its HLN tabloid channel, in a move designed to shake-up the troubled news channel.
Jautz guided the shift of Headline News into more opinionated programming that features people like Nancy Grace and Joy Behar. It prime-time shows are heavy with celebrity coverage.
Jim Walton, CEO of CNN Worldwide, thanked Klein for his six years of service. “Jon has made important contributions to the CNN story, and he leaves with our respect and friendship, and with my sincere thanks,” he wrote in a memo.
Jautz, according to Walton, “is a rarity—a working journalist who is an even better news executive.” In various positions at Time Warner, “he has a demonstrated ability to collaborate and lead strong teams, and a track-record of programming successes.”
Scot Safon, who is currently the chief marketing officer for all of CNN’s channels, will take over HLN.
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