No. 2 Exec at CNN to Leave Next Month

NEW YORK —  Philip Kent, brought in a year ago as CNN’s No. 2 executive, will leave at the end of September, the cable news network said Wednesday.

Kent, whose title is president and chief operating officer, CNN News Group, oversaw the first difficult steps of CNN’s restructuring as it grappled with increasing competition and, earlier this year, its integration into the new AOL Time Warner Inc. empire. Among the changes were the layoffs of nearly 10% of CNN’s staff and the merging of its TV and Internet operations.

The moves were well-regarded internally, but Kent’s departure wasn’t unexpected. His boss, CNN News Group Chairman Tom Johnson, stepped down in June and was replaced by Walter Isaacson, former editorial director at Time Inc.

Kent said he “spent a challenging year putting a management organization in place, bringing expenses in line, putting in place an operating strategy and re-engineering news gathering.” Now, he said, CNN’s emphasis has shifted to “the day-to-day output of journalism, . . . and I don’t have a background in that.”

The former Creative Artists Agency agent, who until a year ago was president of Turner Broadcasting System International, said he doesn’t have any immediate plans.