Atlanta-based HLN, sister station to CNN, this week announced a round of layoffs and shuffled its weekday daytime programming.
According to a memo to employees from new HLN general manager Albie Hecht, the changes will take effect Nov. 18.
An HLN spokeswoman said she couldn’t say how many people are losing their jobs.
Three relatively new shows have been cut: “Raising America” hosted by Kyra Phillips at noon, “Now in America” with Vinnie Politan at 4 p.m. and “Evening Express” with Ryan Smith and Lynn Berry from 5 to 7 p.m.
In their place: repeats of entertainment program “Showbiz Tonight” at noon, an expansion of its existing “News Now” program to 5 p.m., repeats of the ABC series “What Would You Do?’ at 5 p.m. and a fresh episode of “Showbiz Tonight” at 6 p.m. The primetime programs anchored by Jane Velez-Mitchell, Nancy Grace and Drew Pinksy will remain unchanged.
Phillips will have a new undefined role. Berry moves to “News Now.” Politan and Smith remain as co-hosts of 10 p.m.’s “HLN After Dark.”
“While change is necessary to evolve HLN, it is also difficult,” Hecht wrote. “A handful of our family members will be impacted by today’s news.”
The network was once CNN Headline News, which provided a tight but repetitive feed of news. But immediate access to news on the Web gradually supplanted that mission. In 2008, the network changed its name to HLN and began focusing more on big crime stories.
When HLN carried the trials of Jodi Arias and Casey Anthony, the network saw ratings skyrocket. But when there is no major crime trial, the network tends to lag behind Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
Under Scot Safon, who ran the network from 2010 until August, 2013, HLN focused its programming to appeal to suburban housewives in the South and Midwest.
Consumer advocate Clark Howard, who is heard locally on AM750 and 95.5FM News/Talk WSB, left HLN’s “Evening Express” last week after five years at the network. He said he noticed HLN last year was veering away from the news-you-can-use information he likes to dispense in favor of even more crime stories. So in June, Howard told HLN he was departing at the end of October when his contract ended.
More changes are afoot. CNN president Jeff Zucker hired Hecht, who has an entertainment background, to shake things up. Hecht was president of Nickelodeon Entertainment, overseeing hit series such as “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Dora the Explorer.” He also founded Spike TV, a cable network catering to men.
Bobbie Battista, a former anchor there when HLN was CNN Headline News, heard the network may be focusing more on different topics down the road. “There could be a place on the dial for health and wellness,” she said. “There is a lot of interest in that.”
Three new Sunday night programs reflect that: a cooking show at 7 p.m. hosted by Atlanta chef Richard Blais, a lifestyle show at 8 p.m and a medical program at 8:30 p.m. All of the new shows debut Dec. 1.
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