CNN gets high ratings for Jolie interview

In this file photo orignally provided by CNN, Angelina Jolie and CNN's Anderson Cooper pose for a photo during the taping in Los Angeles of an interview which aired Tuesday, June 20, 2006 on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360.' (AP Photo/CNN)

To anyone who thinks CNN sold its soul to Angelina Jolie for ratings, network chief Jonathan Klein has this message: Find me a news outlet that would have turned her down.

CNN attracted 1.33 million viewers for Anderson Cooper's interview last week with the U.N. goodwill ambassador and new mother of Brad Pitt's baby, more than doubling the audience Cooper typically gets for his nightly newscast.

Since the news network doesn't usually traffic in the game of big celebrity "gets," it also drew its share of criticism for journalistic stargazing.

"I don't know of any news organization that would not have talked to Angelina Jolie," said Klein, "and I also don't know of any other news organization that would have aired that interview as the apex of a day's worth of coverage ... of that important issue. It was both good journalism and well within the brand of CNN."

Throughout the day before the interview aired, CNN telecast several reports on the humanitarian crisis in Africa. That's the issue Jolie has focused on in her humanitarian work and during most of her interview with Cooper.

Since it was Jolie's first TV interview since giving birth, part of it included baby talk. CNN contends that material would have dominated any other TV interview.

That didn't stop the critics, particularly given CNN's history as a no-frills network where news is supposed to be the star.

"News may still be a star at CNN today," wrote Scott Collins of the Los Angeles Times, "but I'm guessing it might be on the verge of throwing a tantrum about the reduced size of its dressing room."

Slate's Troy Patterson wrote that the "ferociously dull" interview was a reminder that "with the exception of the charming and resourceful Jeanne Moos, the many-headed Cable News Network couldn't cover popular culture if you gave it a tarp."

Asked the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenthal: "Does CNN really want to be known as the Celebrity News Network?"

Klein said CNN hadn't actively sought the Jolie interview; she came to the network because of its track record covering international issues. For instance, Christiane Amanpour just spent a week with refugees in Uganda, he said.

CNN's one-day focus on World Refugee Day during most of its programs on June 20 — immigration-focused Lou Dobbs was a notable exception — mirrors what the network has done recently on other issues, including lung cancer and the Dubai ports, he said.

"You don't spend the whole day covering immigration or the whole day covering Dubai ports because you think you're going to get huge numbers for that," Klein said. "These are not sexy subjects. But we've done that in the past and we'll continue to do that in the future."

Most people who watched the coverage were impressed with its depth and scope, he said. "The cherry on top was the two-hour interview with Angelina Jolie," he said.

Cooper's ratings for June are 36 percent over June 2005, making him second only to Dobbs in ratings gains for the network's high-profile shows. Dobbs' surge was unexpected; CNN has aggressively sought to boost Cooper's show and he has become the network's public face.

CNN's prime-time viewership is up 6 percent over last June while first-place Fox News Channel is down 17 percent during the same period.

Klein said he recognized the danger of a public backlash against Cooper, whose profile has increased markedly since the newsman's coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

"The public will always sniff out a fraud," he said. "Since Anderson is so obviously the real deal, I don't think there will be any backlash that sticks. There will be an increasing number of people who will want to throw darts at him, but I think they will bounce off harmlessly."