CNN Prez: MSNBC "Give[s] Up Trying To Cover The News In Any Meaningful Way"

CNN Worldwide, he told the troops, was enjoying its fourth straight year of double-digit profit growth. "It hasn't been the greatest news year," Mr. Klein said. "There haven't been major news events that have moved the needle. But overall, we're up pretty significantly, which is nice."

Still, the network continues to chase Fox News in across-the-board ratings, and at the same time must fend off MSNBC, which so far has enjoyed a 20 percent jump in total year-to-date viewers over last year--thanks in part to the popularity of its late-night "doc block," which often features grisly true-crime narratives and repurposed Dateline programming.

"When they do that, they're really competing with Court TV," Mr. Klein later told NYTV in an interview in his office overlooking Columbus Circle. "They're saying, in effect, we give up trying to cover the news in any meaningful way. It enhances our brand. We're the last man standing in terms of covering the news. We love that."

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