CNN Shuffles Chairs

Jeff Zucker

Many of CNN’s top talents were being moved around like chess pieces Tuesday.

After new CNN honcho Jeff Zucker hired Chris Cuomo from ABC, he dismissed pundits James Carville, Mary Matalin and Bill Bennett. CNN managing editor Mark Whitaker resigned, and Anderson Cooper learned his show will no longer be repeated in prime time.

Cuomo is expected to be joined by Erin Burnett on a new morning show. The NYPost’s Page Six reported Dec. 10 that Zucker wanted to move Burnett from her prime-time slot “to revive the cabler’s moribund morning ratings.” She is, however, contracted to prime time, and a source says, “They’ll have to throw a bucket of money at her to go to the morning.”

And Soledad O’Brien has been promised a role in prime time.

Zucker has been taking an active role in all departments of CNN, not just human resources. “He is all over everyone at the network,” said one source. “He is e-mailing everyone, around the clock, the anchors, the control rooms, he has inserted himself into everything. It is great for the network.”

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