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CNN chief about to leave his post

Walter Isaacson will step down as chairman and chief executive officer of AOL Time Warner Inc's Cable News Network unit following a decline last year in ratings at the 24-hour news broadcaster. CNN/Sports Illustrated's president Jim Walton will take his place, the network said.

Isaacson was named chairman and chief executive of the non-profit organization Aspen Institute and will start working there in the first half of 2003. He had led CNN since July 2001.

CNN's primetime audience ratings declined 11 percent from 2002 to 2001 compared with cable rival Fox News, which had a 36 percent jump. CNN, founded by AOL Time Warner Vice Chairman Ted Turner, experienced a 7 percent fall in its overall viewership compared with Fox News, which rose 44 percent, Fox News spokesman Robert Zimmerman said.

Isaacson succeeded Tom Johnson, who resigned in June 2001.

Before taking the role of chairman and CEO, Isaacson was editorial director of Time Inc, overseeing publications such as Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated. He also served as managing editor of Time magazine.

CNN, trying to revive audience ratings and advertising sales, held talks last year with Viacom Inc's CBS and Walt Disney Co's ABC about collaborating on news distribution to lower costs.

Shares of AOL Time Warner rose US$0.15 to US$15.03 at 4:15pm in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have fallen 50 percent in the past year.

Isaacson's resignation comes a day after the announcement that Stephen Case, chairman of parent company AOL Time Warner, said he'd quit after the annual shareholder meeting in May.

Isaacson, a graduate of Harvard and Oxford universities, will succeed Elmer W. Johnson, who resigned from the Aspen Institute in August.

The Aspen Institute, founded by Chicago businessman Walter Paepcke in 1950, specializes in educational seminars that focus on policymaking related to topics such as international peace, democracy, economics and society.

Isaacson's discussions with Aspen Institute had been underway for a couple of weeks, said James Spiegelman, Aspen Institute's director of communications.

"It was not a sudden decision," Spiegelman said. "We had undertaken a serious search."

Paepcke founded the Container Corporation of America, now owned by Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.

CNN spokesman Matt Furman didn't return a telephone message seeking comment. A message left for CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson wasn't returned.

News Corp owns Fox News.
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