CNN’s Jon Klein: ‘Why should we try and imitate what the other guys are doing?’

CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein talks with TVGuide’s Stephen Battaglio about the direction of the network and reaffirms his commitment to “straight-ahead news coverage,” which he says is more profitable. Here’s what Klein had to say about CNN’s primetime/Fox News as well as Fox’s response:

Noting that CNN’s 2009 prime-time audience was higher than it was in 2005, Klein says his network has not been hurt by FNC, which he believes is in a different business with its partisan personalities. “We cover the news,” he says. “They are about fomenting outrage. They do it very well. Their viewers stay longer. That’s about a state of mind.” (A Fox News Channel spokesperson said: “We don’t respond to presidents of fifth-place news networks. The last time we looked, Jon was losing to the Weather Channel, so call us back when he and CNN regain relevancy.”) Fox News points out that its regular news programs also top CNN by wide margins. [emphasis ours]

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