King: More write-ups…

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter and Bill Carter write about John King getting the 7pm slot at CNN…

Mr. King’s move comes as CNN feels the heat of its cable rivals. According to Nielsen ratings of the 25- to 54-year-old demographic, CNN ranked fourth among cable news channels in the 7 p.m. hour last month, mirroring its prime-time struggles.

Despite the ranking, Mr. Klein said the network’s strategy was financially sound. “We’ve had profit growth for six straight years,” Mr. Klein said, adding that “our ratings are the highest we’ve had in five years — other than the election year last year.” Mr. Dobbs’s time slot, for example, has averaged 794,000 viewers this year, down from an average of 1.07 million last year but up from 690,000 in 2007.

Despite the abrupt nature of the anchor change, Mr. Klein said Thursday that his conversations with Mr. Dobbs were never contentious. He would not say whether the settlement CNN had reached with Mr. Dobbs precluded his working for another television news outlet for any period of time.

“I can’t really get into the details of any settlement,” he said. Mr. Dobbs dined with the chairman of Fox News last September, which sparked speculation that he was considering an exit from CNN.