CNN lays off more than 40 journalists

CNN has laid off more than 40 senior journalists in its newsgathering operation as part of a reorganization of the business under Jeff Zucker.

The cutting of production and editorial staff at the Time Warner-owned group comes as Zucker tries to re-establish CNN as the dominant force in 24 hour cable news, a crown it lost several years ago to Fox News Channel. The lay-offs coincide with changes to the network’s programming. Zucker has hired new presenters and diversified CNN’s output, adding documentary and reality series to its traditional live news coverage. A CNN spokesperson said it would add about 100 people to its headcount in 2014, adding that the network was investing in journalism. “We’re expanding the definition of news,” she said. “We’re not abandoning news by any stretch of the imagination … there will be more people working at CNN today than last year.”