HEADLINE NEWS CHANGES CRITICIZED.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

The redesigned CNN Headline News, which shrinks the anchor and video images to make room for a flurry of graphics, is getting a negative reception from television critics while viewers appear undecided.

The cable network's format unveiled Monday seems to be aimed at the computer-savvy, viewers who are accustomed to sorting through a wide range of colorful images, gleaning that which is important to them and dismissing the rest.

Faced with increasing competition from MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News and other information sources, Headline News has been punched up with team anchoring, smaller on-screen images of the anchor and videotape, and graphics that subliminally update the viewer on stocks and weather forecasts.

The anchor is pushed to the right upper third of the screen, as are the video feeds. To the left is a ``data box'' with blurbs, often trivial in nature, intended to reinforce the main story.

In the bottom right are national and regional weather maps. In the lower left are eight- to 10-word headlines on top of Dow and Nasdaq updates and selected stock quotes. There's the obligatory network identification bug in the far right corner, and a band across the middle gives weather data and the current time in various zones.

Judith Marlane, a professor in the Radio-Television-Film Department at California State University, Northridge, said the new format doesn't fit its medium.

``I've always gone to Headline News when I'm out of town to get an abbreviated look at what's going on in the world. I turn it on to see and hear news footage,'' Marlane said. ``I don't want to go to my computer, or to feel like I'm on my computer when I'm watching television.

``I really do believe the people who are glued to their computers will stay glued to their computers, and the people who are traditional viewers of Headline News are not going to be enchanted,'' Marlane said.

The Headline News revamp was aimed at boosting the overall audience for the faltering network and lowering its average age from the current advertiser-unfriendly 54.

One network news executive said he doesn't believe his and other networks will be following Headline News' lead.

``I think it's practically unwatchable,'' he said. ``I do not think that is the future of television.''

``I'm under no illusions that someone looks at the screen and takes it all in at once,'' said Teya Ryan, the executive vice president and general manager of Headline News who orchestrated the change. ``If you want to know your weather, that's where your eye will go on the screen. If you want to know what's happening with Dow and Nasdaq, that's where your eye will go.''

All the publicity about the transformation inspired viewer curiosity. On its debut day, Headline News averaged 136,000 households, up 11 percent from a year ago, but in the network's key 25 to 54 demographic, viewership was down 5 percent.

The strongest day portion was its 6-to-9 p.m. prime-time block, possibly because of Andrea Thompson, ``NYPD Blue'' star turned reporter, making her much-talked-about network news debut. In Headline News' prime time, the overall audience grew 12 percent and was up 26 percent in adults 25 to 54.

But just because they're checking it out doesn't mean they like what they see.

KCAL produces local reports on the half hour that cut into the national newscast. One KCAL newsroom staffer said, ``Oh yeah, we've been getting complaints.'' However, a news producer there dismissed the overall significance of the calls, noting viewers never phone in when they're pleased about a change, only when they're angry about it.

Ryan said whether this is the start of a trend that could carry over to local stations depends on whether news directors feel it's right for their viewers. ``We didn't do this because I think it's a really neat idea. We did this because we thought it was the best way to serve our Headline News audience.''

The complex computer graphics, generated by a custom-designed program, and the additional news anchors have resulted in increased staffing at Headline News at a time when many other AOL-Time Warner properties are being trimmed. That's a sign of the parent company's dedication to the unique ``news wheel'' franchise Ted Turner started nearly 20 years ago.

``The one thing to remember is that we're in it for the long haul,'' Ryan said. ``I think it's months and months away from changing the ratings.''

Television critics gave the new look a thumbs down.

Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune said the new screen ``looks like an alarmingly jumbled Internet news site, except with smoother-running video and no place to put your mouse.''

Phil Kloer of Cox Newspapers chided it as the ``Chillin' News Network'' for the slangy and sometimes irreverent headlines seen on Monday. He said the makeover is ``all about taking care of busy-ness.''

Eric Mink of the New York Daily News speculated that CNN's attempt to capture younger viewers may backfire. ``There's no guarantee that young people will want to watch repetitive mini-segments of news, even ones condescendingly supplemented with attitude-charged doses of entertainment-oriented featurettes.''

Or as Kloer wrote, ``Dude! Where's my news?''

CNN Headline News was the bearer of what could be bad tidings of its own future. One of its stories on Monday said research shows that most people do not multitask well.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Alisha Davis, entertainment anchor for the new CNN Headline News, rehearses one week before the glitzy format's debut. The network hopes the changes will attract younger viewers.

Ric Feld/Associated Press

(2) The new design of CNN Headline News

(3) The station's former look

Box: TV makeover

Associated Press

SOURCE: CNN Headline News