CNN may finally be preparing to take direct action to deal with its hemorrhaging ratings, although it is unlikely to make any significant moves before the Nov. 6 elections, the New York Post reported today (Friday), citing several unnamed sources. The newspaper said that senior management is drawing up a short list of potential candidates to replace Jim Walton, head of CNN Worldwide, whose contract expires on Dec. 31. Walton has been with CNN virtually since its inception. The Post quoted one source as saying, "It's being looked at very hard by [Time Warner CEO] Jeff Bewkes. ... Until recently they had a good business tory going for them, but they're having to do a lot of make-goods." Make-goods are free advertisements that are allotted to advertisers when a TV outlet fails to provide a guaranteed number of viewers. Last month CNN issued a statement to The New York Times saying, "Despite the perennial ratings stories and quotes from anonymous sources, CNN continues to deliver quality journalism which is uniquely valuable to audiences, advertisers and distributors. In fact, CNN is on track to deliver its highest profits in its history and continues to reach more people on more platforms than any other TV network."

08/06/2012