(Reuters) - CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton said on Friday he is leaving the once-dominant cable news network, which has been plagued by low ratings in recent years.
Phil Kent, chief executive of Turner Broadcasting, will begin a search for a new president, the network said. Walton is departing on December 31.
"CNN needs new thinking. That starts with a new leader who brings a different perspective, different experiences and a new plan," said Walton, 54, CNN's president since 2003.
Walton will be staying on to oversee presidential election coverage, allowing CNN time to search for a new executive who can then start with a clean slate at the beginning of 2013.
"It makes sense to use the next six months that program themselves with the Olympics, the conventions, the election and the inauguration to plot wholesale changes for next year," said Davidson Goldin, former editorial director at MSNBC.
CNN, founded in 1980 and now owned by Time Warner Inc, has tried to hold the middle ground in its news coverage, a position that some blame for its ratings erosion, while ratings have risen for competitors Fox News and MSNBC, which blend news with opinion and political commentary.
News Corp owns Fox, while MSNBC is now owned by cable giant Comcast Corp after its purchase of NBC two years ago.
The opinion programs on No. 1 cable news network Fox News skew conservative, while commentaries on MSNBC leans liberal.
From last September until the week ended July 22, CNN has trailed both networks, pulling in an average of 584,000 total viewers in prime time, compared with Fox's 1.82 million viewers and MSNBC's 726,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.
For the second quarter, CNN posted its weakest prime time ratings in 21 years, and total viewers fell 35 percent from a year earlier. It also received criticism in June for initially misreporting a Supreme Court health-care ruling.
CNN is now tasked with finding a new leader that will need to both boost ratings to drive revenue growth and reinvent the network's brand, said Outsell Inc media analyst Ken Doctor.
"Instead of just moving the pieces around which is what they've done on TV, they've got to rethink what they stand for and what they want the audience to believe about CNN and what it delivers," Doctor said.
Industry sources said CNN should go outside the network for Walton's replacement to inject new energy into what they believe has become a stodgy brand. One name press reports have speculated upon for CNN in recent months is Jeff Zucker, who gained a reputation as a news producing whiz while at the "Today" show. Zucker's producing talent helped him rise all the way to the CEO post at NBC before being ousted in the Comcast takeover. He is now producing "Katie," the new talk show hosted by Katie Couric that is premiering on ABC this fall.
But if CNN decides to look in-house for Walton's successor industry observers said possible candidates could include the head of its U.S. operations, Ken Jautz, and Mark Whitaker, an executive vice president and managing editor.
One positive for CNN under Walton's stewardship has been its financial performance; the network is highly profitable. This year, CNN is on track to post record operating profit of $600 million.
"When Jim Walton assumed the presidency of CNN in 2003, it was underperforming and earnings were in serious decline," said Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes in a statement. "Since then, he and CNN have tripled earnings, doubled margin and delivered annual growth of 15 percent."
CNN also reaps profit from its affiliate fees which are on the pricier side for cable networks, according to SNL Kagan. The research firm estimates that CNN currently charges carriers fees of 57 cents per subscriber per month, which tops MSNBC's 18 cents per subscriber but trails Fox's 90 cents per subscriber.
Under Walton, CNN debuted shows such as "Anderson Cooper 360" and "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," according to CNN's website.
CNN's domestic network has been undergoing a programming makeover in recent years that has produced mixed results. Its highest-rated host, Larry King, ended his 25-year run on "Larry King Live" in December 2010. "Piers Morgan Tonight," the show that now fills King's old timeslot, has grown into a solid ratings performer for CNN.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, is "Parker Spitzer," a talk show that featured fallen New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Pulitzer-prize winning conservative columnist Kathleen Parker. The hiring of Spitzer brought CNN massive criticism, but it was Parker who was booted off the show after just four months. Spitzer did a short stint as a solo host but is no longer on CNN either; he now hosts a show for Al Gore's Current TV.
Time Warner shares closed up 1.6 percent at $38.98 on Friday. The company reports second-quarter earnings August 1.
(Reporting By Liana B. Baker; editing by Peter Lauria, M.D. Golan and Tim Dobbyn)
Cable Wholesale Now Offers USB 3.0 Cable - YAHOO!
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Green veggies burn hole in pocket - Times of India
LUCKNOW: Till last month, Rs 500 were enough for Rita Mishra, a housewife, to buy a week's quota of vegetables for her family of four. But now she does not get enough to last for three days. The skyrocketing prices of vegetables have come as yet another blow for the people already reeling under high inflation rate, mainly due to hike in the prices of the foodgrains and fuel. However, what has left people puzzled is the difference between the wholesale and retailer prices.
Two weeks back, tomato was available in the local mandis at around Rs 20 per kg but now the price has hit Rs 50. However, the wholesale price of tomato at present is Rs 30-32 per kg. In super markets, the same tomato is available for Rs 45 per kg. Similarly, potato prices have also doubled in the past 15 days. At present, the potato rate in mandis is Rs 20 per kg, wholesale Rs 12-14 per kg and in super market Rs 16-17 per kg.
The price of lady finger in local mandis is Rs 25 per kg and super market Rs 27-30 per kg, whereas in wholesale it is available for Rs 12 per kg. Coriander is selling at Rs 200 per kg in retail -- double the the wholesale price of Rs 100 per kg. In super markets, however, the price is Rs 120 per kg. Same is the case with onion.
"Earlier, Rs 50-60 was enough to spend at a sabzi mandi. But today even with Rs 150- 200 in hand you will not be able to buy same quantity of vegetables," said Beena Verma, a housewife, shopping at Nishatganj mandi. Ruchika, a college student, who had come to buy vegetables at Narhi, said that the surprising part is that even the seasonal vegetables were costly. Anupma Khattri said "Earlier, rates of vegetables at super market were reasonable earlier, but have shot up in the past few days.
However, I still prefer super market because it saves time." On the other hand, Rita Singh, said that she has started going to wholesale market once a week. But, she added, in wholesale one doesn't get a choice to select. "One has to buy the whole lot piled in front of you," she said.
Many people who supply tiffin to hostels are also facing tough time due to hike in the price of vegetables. Maya, who runs a tiffin service for working girls and students at Gomtinagar, said, "My customers complain that I am not providing them variety of vegetables. I charge Rs 20 per meal and it is not possible to meet the cost. I try to balance the demand through rajma, curries, kachhauri and other things instead of regular meals. "Many families have cut down on their outings to keep expenses under control. "The prices of all the items are going up and it is increasingly becoming difficult for the salaried class to stick to the family budget," said Ramesh Srivastava, an executive in a telecom company.
President of vegetable and fruits grower association Satish Sonker, when contacted, said, "prices have shot up recently in the retail because of increase in the transportation cost. Also, the shelf life of some vegetables in rainy season is less. However, vegetable vendors complained that lot of money is pocketed by the middlemen who buy from the wholesale and supply to the retailers.
"The network of middlemen in wholesale market is so strong that without their consent, farmers cannot unload their produce in the mandis and vendors cannot buy directly from the wholesalers. These middlemen fix the purchase and sales price," said Raju Sonkar, a vegetable vendor in Nishatganj. "Many vendors buy from the suppliers, who are also middlemen," he added.
UK sea energy cost could halve by 2025 - Carbon Trust - Reuters UK
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of wave and tidal energy in Britain could fall by over half to current offshore wind levels by 2020-2025 and by 80 percent by 2050 if much more research and development is done, a marine energy expert at the Carbon Trust said on Friday.
The cost of developing wave and tidal energy is much higher than other renewables at the moment because it is a nascent industry with a wide range of technologies and commercial viability has not yet been proven at large-scale.
The levelised cost of tidal energy is 0.30-0.35 pounds per kilowatt hour (KWh), while wave is seen at 0.35-0.40 pounds/KWh, Stephen Wyatt, head of technology acceleration at the Carbon Trust, told reporters at a briefing in London.
This compares to a wholesale electricity price of 0.06-0.07 pounds/KWh, a levelised cost of 0.10 pounds/KWh for onshore wind and 0.15 pounds/KWh for offshore wind, he added.
The levelised cost is the break-even price at which electricity is generated from a specific source.
"The building blocks are there for bringing down the cost curve. By 2020 to 2025 we can get (marine energy) costs to where offshore wind is today," said Wyatt, whose organisation advises business, governments and organisations on low-carbon opportunities and helps develop clean energy technologies.
Costs can be reduced by developing more efficient methods of operation, maintenance, installation, which currently represent more than a quarter of total costs.
Although levelised costs for wave and tidal could fall to 0.18 pounds/KWh by 2050, much more research and development would further cut those sums to under 0.10 pounds/KWh for wave and around 0.08 pounds/KWh for tidal by mid-century, Wyatt said.
"There is the potential to cut costs five-fold to reach 60 pounds/megawatt hour (or 0.06 pounds/KWh) by 2050," he added.
However, costs for clean energy technologies such as wind and nuclear could also fall dramatically by then and it is difficult to predict what the wholesale electricity price will be.
BRITANNIA RULES THE WAVES?
Around 40 wave and tidal concepts are being developed in Britain, more than any other country in the world.
Not every device will be commercially viable and no five-to-10 MW array has been constructed yet. The installation of hundreds of megawatts is not seen until at least 2020.
To move beyond single device demonstration and towards the first 5 MW arrays, bringing down the cost will be the "key challenge", as well as demonstrating the technology can deliver a significant amount of renewable energy, Wyatt said.
"From around 40 devices today you will probably see eight or nine full-scale prototypes succeed. To move to the first, 'farm' stage you will need public sector support and probably now four or five (devices) have support," he added.
The UK government is aiming to become the world leader in wave and tidal technology and is targeting 200-300 MW of capacity by 2020.
This week, the government confirmed a subsidy level proposal for next year that is more than double the current rate for tidal stream and wave power projects to help support the fledgling industry.
Some experts estimate that UK marine could supply 20 percent of the country's electricity by 2050.
However, Wyatt said it is "more realistic" to expect marine energy to generate 11 percent of UK electricity supply, or 13 GW, by 2050.
(Editing by Keiron Henderson)
CAUTION EVERYBODY ...... My summer gas bill is usually about £3 for the quarter- yes three pounds! However, I was horrified by my recent quarterly bill which showed that I owed them £58.90. My heating engineer came to check for a leak but found none, however, he told me to ring British Gas and demand a new meter. I rang, and without any hesitation - which was odd - I was given a date. SO PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR GAS: DON'T USE YOUR WATER....AND GO AND CHECK IF YOUR METER'S STILL RUNNING WHEN IT SHOULDN'T BE. Maybe this is where part of their profits are coming from.
- Heather, Sea Breeze, 26/7/2012 15:28
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