CNN's strategy for revival hinges on adding broader human interest news and getting people to use its digital platforms, the head of the news organisation said Tuesday. CNN World-wide president Jeff Zucker said ratings for the all-news channel "are up quite dramatically" this year but added that "we still have a long way to go."
Zucker, appearing at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado, said CNN is among the most important news organisations world-wide despite having lost viewers to rivals. "CNN remains one of the great brands in news and information in the world and the key is to make sure that CNN is essential to as many people as possible both here in the United States and around the world," Zucker said.
"CNN has usually been essential in times of breaking news and people would use CNN a little bit like the spare tire in the trunk - you would take it out when you need it. The key for us is to be more essential more of the time." Zucker said this means "broadening the definition of what news is" beyond politics and disaster coverage.
CNN can draw more people, he said, by adding in more "business and sports and culture" in the mix of news, he noted. "We're still all over Washington and Egypt, but that doesn't mean you can't cover stories of human interest." Zucker began his job in January as head of the 23 news and information businesses including the CNN news channel, CNN International and CNN.com, part of the Time Warner conglomerate.