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CNN unveils restructuring
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January 17, 2001: 11:39 a.m. ET
Network plans to cut 400 jobs worldwide; changes aimed at improving coordination
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - CNN announced a sweeping, company-wide reorganization Wednesday designed to consolidate and better-coordinate the company's newsgathering operations. The restructuring will result in the elimination of approximately 400 jobs, or more than 9 percent of CNN's work force.
In a memo sent to company employees, the company said the reorganization was designed to condense CNN's numerous news units into more cohesive operations.
CNN employees will no longer work only for television, radio or interactive channels, but will float between all three. For example, CNNfn.com will combine with its sister television network, CNNfn.
"These changes will improve CNN's ability to provide the world's most timely news coverage," said Tom Johnson, CNN's chairman and CEO. "Today, we are reshaping how we gather and distribute news and information across all forms of media. This will enable us to deliver the highest quality journalism even more effectively, while maintaining the excellence of integrity that are the standards of CNN."
Heavy investments planned
As part of the plan, CNN plans to create a single desk in Atlanta to influence better coordination on breaking national and international stories.
Click here to read the CNN news release.
The network also intends to invest heavily during the coming year, saying it plans to employ more journalists, including 150 full-fledged correspondents, than ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC combined. The company will also staff two new international bureaus, which will be announced shortly, and reactivate its dormant bureau in Rio de Janeiro, bringing the network's total number of bureaus to 42.
Of the 400 positions scheduled for elimination, approximately one-third will come from CNN's interactive staff, one-third from programming and the remainder from different areas across the country. The company said it would officially inform those who are losing their jobs sometime next week.
In conjunction with the announcement, Ken Jautz was appointed executive vice president and general manager of CNNfn. Jautz, most recently the managing director of German financial channel n-tv, replaces Shelby Coffey, who resigned as CNNfn's president late Tuesday to pursue the creation of a private medical foundation.
Teya Ryan, currently the executive vice president of CNN's domestic networks and CNN News Group, was appointed the executive vice president and general manager of CNN Headline News. Steve Robinson, the number two executive at CNN/Sports Illustrated, will elevate to the top position in that unit.
Launched in 1980 by Ted Turner, CNN grew rapidly and is now distributed in more than 200 countries worldwide. The network is now operated by AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates), which was formed earlier this month as a result of America Online's acquisition of Time Warner Inc.
The changes follows similar reorganizations at several prominent media companies amid a weakening advertising market, particularly online.
In the last month alone, General Electric's NBC announced last week that it would pare its workforce by 10 percent, News Corp., the parent company of the Fox television network, announced plans to cut its U.S. digital media workforce in half, and the New York Times Co. said it would cut about 17 percent of its online workforce.
Shares of AOL Time Warner rose $2.08, or 4.45 percent, to $48.78 in late afternoon trade Wednesday. 
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