CNN shake-up: New prez in, old one out

Finally, the long-expected CNN executive tsunami has swept through Columbus Circle headquarters: Jon Klein is out, Ken Jautz is in.

Jautz is an old hand at CNN; he'll take over prime time in the United States, and pretty much all the rest of the U.S. operations.

No surprise, of course, but naturally, what curious timing - just as Klein has rebooted the entire prime-time lineup. It's almost like getting rid of a baseball manager immediately after he got all the key position players he was hoping to get.

But here's the key question: Anderson Cooper. "360"s" numbers are shockingly low, and it's a bitter shame, too, because the show has done some terrific work in recent months and was outstanding over the summer during the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis. 

Here's CNN's own story, just posted:

HLN head Ken Jautz takes over as executive vice president of CNN/US, replacing Jonathan Klein, who headed the network for six years. CNN's chief marketing officer Scot Safon will run HLN, replacing Jautz.

Walton also said he would hire a managing editor to "help leverage our newsgathering resources across multiple platforms."

Jautz, who joined CNN in 1989 as a bureau chief in Germany, has held a wide variety of jobs at the company, including executive vice president in charge of CNN's business news operations. During a stint with Turner Broadcasting Europe, he helped launch channels in several European markets. Most recently, Jautz has presided over the revamp and rebranding of the HLN channel, introducing signature programs such as Nancy Grace, Joy Behar, ShowBiz Tonight, Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell and Morning Express with Robin Meade. The new evening line-up doubled the network's prime-time ratings.

"Ken is a rarity -- a working journalist who is an even better news executive," wrote Walton in a memo to staff. "Ken has launched, made profitable and turned around businesses for our news organization, Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner literally around the world."

Safon takes over HLN after heading CNN's marketing for the last eight years, winning wide industry accolades for his marketing campaign for CNN and CNN=Politics. Before joining CNN, Safon oversaw marketing for one of CNN's sister channels, TNT."Scot is one of the most creative and passionate executives at Turner Broadcasting," said Walton.

The moves come as CNN/US has suffered declining prime-time ratings in recent years as other cable channels have taken on partisan tones in their programming and news coverage. CNN/US recently announced a new prime-time lineup, hiring global media personality and former newspaper editor Piers Morgan to host an interview program to replace Larry King Live, and pairing Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Kathleen Parker and former New York Governor Eliott Spitzer in an 8 p.m. time slot.