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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A One on One With the New Boss

Georg Szalai spoke with Ken Jautz and published this interview at The Hollywood Reporter on Monday. Jautz talked about his biggest challenge -- boosting primetime ratings -- the importance of personalities and how TV news can be serious yet entertaining.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST PROBLEM FOR CNN, AND HOW DO YOU FIX IT?

Ken Jautz: The biggest issue is to improve our primetime ratings. We need to make our primetime more compelling and engaging, sometimes more fun, you could even say. We are going to adhere to our basic programing strategy of nonpartisan information inclusive of all different points of view. But we need to be livelier and more engaging. Addressing that issue will be my focus. Addressing that with the launch of the two new shows that we have already announced -- "Parker Spitzer" on October 4 and Piers Morgan (as Larry King's replacement) after the turn of the year. We think they will be a big improvement to our primetime.

ONE STRATEGY THAT NEWS NETWORKS HAVE USED TO MAKE THINGS LIVELIER ARE OPINIONATED PUNDITS. ANY PLAN TO ADD SUCH PERSONALITIES?

Jautz: By the time you get to primetime, in today's media environment, there are so many websites and outlets, people know basic facts. In addition to facts, they want analysis, they want context, they want perspective and they want some opinion. And yes, I think we should provide them with as many points of view as possible, but we should provide them from all different ends of the political spectrum and from newsmakers as well as pundits. As long as we continue to be smart and insightful and informed in our reporting and analysis, that will differentiate us.

ANY PERSONALITIES YOU WOULD PARTICULARLY LIKE TO SEE ON AIR -- WHETHER AS PUNDITS OR NEWSMAKERS?

Jautz: I do have three personalities in mind (Parker, Spitzer, Morgan), and I am focusing in the coming weeks and months on those three. I have been involved in helping get these to air and brought a lot of other shows to air. They are personalities and will have a big impact on our primetime lineup and improve it.


HOW IMPORTANT IS ANDERSON COOPER TO THE CNN LINEUP AND BRAND?

Jautz: Extremely. Anderson Cooper is the standard bearer for the type of journalism that CNN has become famous for and that we want to continue to be known for. One of the most memorable stories this year was Haiti, and nobody covered it as comprehensively as CNN, and nobody did as brilliant a job while covering it as Anderson Cooper or Sanjay Gupta and their teams.

ANY OTHER FAVORITE SHOWS ON CNN THAT ARE GOOD EXAMPLES FOR WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?

Jautz: I was just named head of this network. This is like saying which kid do you like better. I can't do that.

ANY INTEREST IN BRINGING IN KATIE COURIC?

Jautz: Like I said, I am really focused on these three personalities and two shows and I don't have any other announcements -- be it shows or people -- beyond that.

HOW MUCH DO YOU WATCH FOX NEWS, AND DO YOU SEE ANY VULNERABILITIES THAT WOULD ALLOW YOU TO CATCH UP IN THE RATINGS?

Jautz: This early in the game, it would probably be smarter for me to talk about our own programs rather than other people's programs. But yes, I do watch a lot of other cable news shows.

YOUR BOSS, CNN WORLDWIDE PRESIDENT JIM WALTON, SAID THAT "ENTERTAINING" IS NOT NECESSARILY A BAD WORD WHEN IT COMES TO NEWS. HOW DO YOU STRIKE THE BALANCE BETWEEN SERIOUS AND FUN FACTORS?

Jautz: It is a matter in which you present things. You have hosts who are smart and insightful and informative but also passionate and engaging and who are good communicators. Piers Morgan, all three of the [new] guys, are excellent communicators, they are passionate about their points of view and excellent in discussing their point of view. A large part is about showcasing the right talent in the best possible manner so they can show their strength.

HLN SKEWS YOUNGER AND MORE FEMALE. TALK A BIT ABOUT HOW MUCH YOU CAN BRING SOME OF THAT TO CNN AND WHETHER THERE WOULD BE A RISK OF BRAND CONFUSION.

Jautz: My mandate at HLN was to create a network distinct and different from CNN. We purposefully made HLN much more pop culture-oriented than CNN and tried to establish its identity as something different. And I think we have successfully done that. We have distinct audiences, advertisers as well. I do not think there is a danger of blending the brands, so to speak. But yes, we have made sure that the presentation of information on HLN is done a lively and passionate manner. And there are ways that we can make CNN shows in primetime more lively and passionate and engaging in the presentation.

BUT TARGET DEMOS FOR THE TWO NETWORKS WILL REMAIN DIFFERENT?

Jautz: The two are different and we want to keep it that way.

DO YOU HAVE A TARGET FOR HOW MUCH PRIMETIME RATINGS MUST IMPROVE? WHAT WOULD YOU CONSIDER A SUCCESS?

Jautz: Higher.




















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20 comments:

Anonymous said...

The numbers for CNN are out for the 3rd Q
and there is no good news. CNN is now losing
to MSNBC in the day demo.360 had some bad
numbers as well. Come Monday CNN will be
completely ruin.360 will continue to lose
younger viewers with the dumb panels.Once
360 attracted younger viewers without all of
the blah,blah, blah. Talking heads, crazies and
the non news format are sinking the show.360
was once a pretty good news show. Ken Jautz
needs to rethink pov/opinion news it is
already making CNN tank. The moment CNN
announced Eliot Spitzer and Piers Morgan
viewers said enough. CNN better drop these
2 shows quick and not wait for more bad
news and being too slow to act.

Anonymous said...

OMG. 360 got a huge wake up call last night.
Keep going with pundits and see your show
get hammered. I dare 360 to drop the talking
heads for the remainder of the year and get
serious.

Also, viewers are sick of Ann Coulter. Larry
king didn't even have 300, 000 viewers. That
is going to become the norm for CNN at 8 &
9. Lawrence O'donnell had the top show on
MSNBC. I turned from 360. Here comes the
domino effect. The ratings are so low for
2 hours that you will never gain enough
viewers to top MSNBC at 10, There was no
news on 360 last night and it cost them
dearly.I am sure the fact that Joe Biden
was on had a lot to do with it. Can someone
explain to me why 360 can't book any
decent guests?

Anonymous said...

Any chance of Ken Jautz making sure that
Parker/Spitzer and Piers Morgan never see
the light of day because that is the only
thing that will save CNN.

Anonymous said...

Advice to Ken: Drop Piers, keep Spitzer and drop what's her face.
And tell Anderson to start dressing like he means business and not wear his tennis gear to the studio. Name one other anchor who gets away with this on cable or otherwise.
Even Jon Stewart who is a fake anchor dresses like he means business. I don't care "if he looks good that way." Some people look good in their birthday suits.
That doesn't mean you go out in public like that.
Someone Mr. Jaunzt, has got to start reigning him in. If he's CNN's brand, let's get busy with a dress code, like in school, for those who wore the baggiest jeans around their ankles because "it was cool," and IMMATURE.

Anonymous said...

TVN is reporting that Miles O'Brien has a new and improved job with PBS.
Jon Klein fired O'Brien in 08 after it shuttered its science and technology dept. Hmm reminds me of the thinking of the Tea Party and their candidates. Science is fact so why bother knowing it.
Let's hope under new management, CNN will realize that science is important and not say we have "Planet in Peril," and then close that out as well.
Miles O'Brien was a great loss to CNN, but Jon Klein isn't. Klein had not one thing to offer, except a ratings nightmare.

Anonymous said...

Looking at the 3rd quarter numbers, we now
know why Jon Klein was fired. CNN knew it
was going to be bad news. The big problem
for the network is the damage is already done.
It is going to take at least 2 years before CNN
turns things around.CNN repelled viewers and
it won't be easy winning them back.CNN needs
to fix it's jumbo graphics and mindless chatter.
CNN made a decision to get out of the news biz
and become a 24/7 talk channel. Jon Stewart
gets credibility because he knows viewers are
so tired of left vs right and the loud mouth
of the day.CNN gets punked day after day
into following the noise and trying to turn
stuff into news that has zero news value.
The choices Klein made before he was shown
the door will sink CNN.

Anonymous said...

CNN has no where to go. These 2 shows
should never have seen the light of day.
CNN seems to have an obsession with
points of view. Shouldn't news gathering
and storytelling matter more. CNN needs
to take a lesson from Nightlne. When I
hear CNN has canceled the latest Jon
Klein plans, I know they are serious and
when 360 is crappy I will not watch.I
don't think the management team can
get beyond a certain mindset and that
is a major league problem for CNN.

Anonymous said...

CNN is forgetting something known as
comfort level. Viewers need people they
can relate to. When CNN has a promo with
Eliot Spitzer saying politics is everything.
I'm like what. Not to me and CNN needs
to find a way to bring us stories about
ordinary people, Viewers have to be able
to relate to what they see on CNN.I am really
turned off by CNN these days. Only an idiot
would give Eliot Spitzer a show in prime
time on CNN. Somebody should have said
get out of my office.It will be a failure
because it is nothing new.

Anonymous said...

According to TV BY THE NUMBERS, the ratings
are also down for Countdown and TRMS.CNN
simply needs to put more thought into their
programming and stop it with gimmicks and
boring talk.CNN.I too am stunned about the
numbers for Larry King. Has his ratings ever
been that low. 360 would have to pick up
more than 500,00 to make up the deficit.
I really did not understand why Larry had
Ben Stein on the show tonight. It just did
not seem right with an education show.
The lead on 360 was very interesting.

Anonymous said...

The ratings are down for all of the cable news
channels.CNN, FNC and MSNBC all had double
digits losses. The message for CNN : don't do
what FNC and MSNBC are doing. The first one
to break away from the pack and stop being
so politically focused will be the big winner.
Nightline is popular with 18-49 year olds by
dong 3 reports each night in a 30 minute
time period. Cable news has not changed in
20 years but the world has moved on. Give
me a reason to watch CNN rather than hit
the remote.

Anonymous said...

360 needs to book Abbie Boudreau. She is
the top search on Google. This ranks up
there with strange but true. This has lead
story written all over it.

Anonymous said...

Lets hope Ken Jautz changes the graphics and
goes with the single line banner like HLN. CNN
does need improvement in presentation and
production. Take for an example, the big terror
story today. How about a connect the dots with
the story. Start with point A, where it all began.
Next to B, etc. Ends with the anchor and so now
we are here. Please no touch screen. Open the
segment with a cool animated graphic with
music in the background , perhaps 5 seconds.
The music continues under the anchor's voice.
Creative writing to set it up before heading
to the connect the dots with the reporters
and if you can use the words on the screen
as the reporters are saying them. Pretty
much like people putting the words to a
song on Youtube.It is simple and can be done
rather quickly. During this segment no huge
banner. Shot the segment in mini doc movie
format.To me that is more visual than an
anchor at the desk or touch screen. This
is something that CNN can do on a daily
basis. A one shot one take short of thing.
CNN has some great photographers and
studio people they can pull this off. Some
of it is as simple as some of the production
on ICarly. Full screen infographics a plus.
You have got still and video from Time
magazine and archives from life. Show and
movie clips and HBO, Cartoon and on and
on that can be used to introduce or segue
segments.I have never understood why
CNN wastes so many resources,CNN has
some amazing journalists. Let's see them
at their best and allowed to practice real
journalism and not sound bite news.CNN
give me a daily news experience.If you
have to go to Jeff Tobin pre-record the
segment with e simple facts in 1 minute.
A great example would be the segment
on 360 last night after the opening interview.
All we needed to know was, did the guy
violate the students rights and what can
happen and Michigan law. Keep in mind
that the show is live and there is nothing
wrong with pre-produced segments for
a cool style. When you play music make
sure it is related to the topic and cool
editing, like scratch editing with video
and effects. Sometimes even use thee
audio from the control room.

Initially, when Current TV started it was
quite good at digital revolution. That is
where CNN needs to look to fill the new
management position. CNN might want
to look into buying Current all together
and getting it's hands on Vanguard and
Infomania. I am convinced that Current could
never quite get it right because of money.
A company like Time Warner doing this
would be huge. Turner Broadcasting has
a huge digital unit and it would be a great
match and additional reporters who can
be multi-platform since they already have
been doing this.CNN needs to stop lowering
the bar and start raising it.


Sorry for venting , but this is not rocket
science. You have to hold people's attention
and you won't get millions with ideological
javelins all day long,I want to try and reach
the millions who don't watch CNN that
much or not at all. But what if I can get
millions to watch CNN for 30 minutes a
day or even a couple of hours.

Anonymous said...

Well the ratings for last night are now in.
360 is picking up viewers and topped
MSNBC in the demo. The problem is that
MSNBC is puling way ahead of CNN for 2
hours and MSNBC is not losing a whole
lot of viewers at 10.360 has to find a way
to pick up at least 500,000 more viewers
than Larry King.I have a feeling come Monday
Countdown numbers will go way up and that
means Rachel's numbers will go up and 360
will not gain enough viewers to top MSNBC
in viewers at 10.MSNBC has outsmarted
CNN and found a way to have their viewers
no turn the channel.

Anonymous said...

I have a remote to turn the channel from
Eliot Spitzer, who needs a pause button.

Anonymous said...

An original it seems from TVN about CNN and its ratings woes:
IT'S NOT NEWS. IT'S CNN!
That's as good as any!

Anonymous said...

CNN needs to stop being so lazy. There is
zero effort in booking people just to come
on and talk. When Jautz uses words like
engaging and compelling, I know that means
nothing is going to change and CNN is about
to become HLN in prime time. They may not
want to go there when you look at HLN's
ratings. Get back to basics CNN and beef
up your news staff and don't hire or book
another talking head.POV journalism is just
more bs. Come Monday CNN will get another
hard lesson that their viewers are tired of
putting up with CNN's crap.

Anonymous said...

Ken Jautz will be looking to find some new
talent. How about Mark Kelley from CBC in
Canada ? His show ' Connect With MK ' is
really popular in Canada. I don't know if CNN
could get him. A lot of people want him to
take over ' The National ' in Canada. Maybe
he would be interested in coming to America.
CNN also needs to fix a women problem. There
is only 1 solo female anchor all day long. What's
up with that ? Could that also be a factor in
CNN losing viewers during the day ?

Anonymous said...

CNN needs to stop being afraid and get radical
and go with a show like 'Infomania' that features
Conor Knighton and the crew. This shows goes
there and no media is off limits , including CNN.
Bret Erlich could really spice up the daily politics
on CNN and add something to CNN's viral video
segments. Last night's episode was so funny.
In particular the Bishop Long clips from CNN.
Conor even joked about CNN ratings with Rick
Sanchez being the punch line. If CNN did this
daily and give them the freedom to go there
like the do on Current. Put this up against
BOR and Countdown. I am will to bet Infomania
will have better demos.

Anonymous said...

Ken Jautz needs to fire a bigot named Rick
Sanchez now. The anti-Jewish comments he
made on CNN are unforgivable. Boycott. I am
standing up for Jon Stewart. Now we know for
sure 100 % that Rick Sanchez is an idiot. Now
we know he is anti-Semitic. Jerk. This is yet
another example of why you just don't give
anyone a show on CNN.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @3:01, Vent away but I think the graphics are fine, if not better than any other network. Fox and NBC now have touch screens. Its an excellent tool for the anchors to use when explaining a story. Its 2010. If the technology is available I'm glad to see they are using it. You mentioned Vanguard's Current show. You can't compare weekly news magazine show to a news network. That's like comparing ESPN to Real Sports on HBO. Two completely separate beasts. News and sport networks need to have real time information unlike news show (like Current or 60 minutes). What does "Shot the segment in mini doc movie format" mean? Is that a Word .doc? It sounds like it would be low quality and would look horrible in HD. Plus, have you ever rendered out a movie file? It takes FOREVER. This is the news industry and people don't have time for this. They fill out templates. Its fast and easy. How does CNN waste resources? I don't see it. Please explain further. You want them to show HBO, cartoons, and magazines? Talk about wasting resources... that stuff is extremely expensive and totally unnecessary and I'm not sure why CNN would want to show HBO programs and cartoons. Last note, you mentioned editing and pre-producing segments. That takes time and resources. Again, writers and producers don't have a lot of time for this. Remember, you cannot predict what is going to happen that day, so how can you edit something that hasn't happened yet.