CNN.com gets new look; needs to keep evolving, executive says

By Kristi E. Swartz

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Forget the cliché, “If it ain't broke, don’t fix it.”

CNN.com consistently ranks among the top news-and-information Web sites, according to monthly data from Nielsen Media Research. The site currently gets about 1.7 billion page views and 100 million video views every month.

Last week, however, CNN.com got a new look that includes more information and video but in a less-cluttered way, executives said. AJC.com talked to Kenneth "KC" Estenson, senior vice president and general manager of the Web site, to find out what was driving the changes.

Q: Why did you decide to change the Web site?

A:  It’s really come from constantly questioning what can we do and what can we do better. This is a natural evolution of innovation. That goes back to the founding of CNN, which was one of the most disruptive technologies. We take that tradition and carry it on.

Q: Give me a short rundown of what’s new.

A: The number-one thing was to make the site cleaner and easier to use. A side effect of innovation is that you can have a lot of clutter.

Our “search” didn’t work very well. So, a “search” that works – that sounds easy.

We saw an opportunity to try and bring our video strength and power and bring our interactive features like photos and maps and galleries and lay that against a question: what can the Internet do that TV can’t or that a newspaper can’t or that a magazine can’t. That really led to the ground rebuilding of our “article” pages. You can dive on an article, click on a map, get a survey, get data – in a very clean way.

Q: Who’s your audience?

It’s duplicative of CNN television by about 70-75 percent. The others go to our site and rarely or infrequently watch CNN.

The fundamental difference is that TV is a talent-driven model that has proven successful for every televised news show. In other words, the first question we ask is “Who am I going to get to host this thing.” It’s subject and interest driven.

Q: How do you balance ... issue-driven news with information that’s more “water cooler” talk?

A: Breaking news and in-depth analysis are two things that CNN must deliver on to be the basic promise to its audience. And I think we do that incredibly well. We do have the opportunity to stretch the brand a little bit.