Former CNN/US president Jon Klein joined HuffPost Live Friday to discuss the changes at his old network, and defended his decision to give Larry King‘s 9pm slot to Piers Morgan.
“As a viewer I don’t regret it,” Klein told HuffPost Live. “I watch him all the time. I think he’s been intelligent and provocative and he follows his own compass. That’s what we wanted, a guy who was an aggressive inquisitor, who spoke his mind, and could be as interesting as his guests. On most nights he does that.”
One regret Klein does seem to have, however, is not being able to convince his boss at the time, Jim Walton, to bring Keith Olbermann to CNN.
Also, Mediaite caught this portion of the chat, about Fox News and its chairman Roger Ailes.
“He pulls things out of nowhere, like that show The Five – I mean, that was a big, gaping hole,” Klein said. “He lost Glenn Beck who had millions of viewers and what does he do? Seamlessly, you know, replaces it with a team that can be a breeding ground for more talent.”