CNN have named their new boss, and it's the former NBC chief, Jeff Zucker, who has been charged with revamping CNN so they can again compete against its biggest rivals: Fox News Channel and MSNBC, NBC News reports.  Zucker moved on to Hollywood as NBC's entertainment president. He became head of NBC Universal, and achieved great financial success for the company by overseeing its highly profitable cable networks. 

"I spent the most rewarding years of my career as a journalist, and it's where I look forward to spending many more," said Zucker, who shot to fame as the executive producer of NBC's "Today" show at the start of its morning dynasty in the 1990s. Starting January, 2013 Zucker will be based in the big apple, and will report to Phil Kent, who runs all of the Turner networks for parent company Time Warner. "Jeff's experience as a news executive is unmatched for its breadth and success," Kent said. "He built and sustained the number-one brand in morning news, and under his watch NBC's signature news programming set a standard for quality and professionalism." 

Katie Couric - a long time friend of Zucker's who's been working with him for her talk show, 'Katie' - said in a statement on Thursday: "I'm very excited that Jeff has such a wonderful opportunity at CNN and equally excited for CNN. I'm also grateful that Jeff has been so instrumental in getting our show off to such a strong start and look forward to working with the fantastic staff we've assembled and building on the strong foundation we've created."