The Year in Cable News: CNN Weathers Turbulent 2013 With New Leadership and Stable Ratings

In a year of major news stories – the Boston Marathon bombing, NSA leaks, the government shutdown – the story behind the story has never been more important. TheWrap takes a look at the networks that brought you these stories 24 hours a day for the past 365 days, their highs and lows, and what you can expect from them in the new year.

Second in TheWrap’s year-end cable news series

Media critics have been writing CNN’s obituary since late 2012, when the network flailed in third place behind MSNBC. Ratings had been on a steady downslide for years, and the hiring of former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Zucker as president of CNN Worldwide in January was seen as both bold and risky, given Zucker’s scorecard at NBC.

But despite an unpredictable year at CNN that has seen a regime change, reporting blunders, and wild ratings swings, the oldest cable news network is poised to end 2013 on an uptick as the only one to see year-over-year growth from 2012 – an election year that benefitted from higher ratings overall.

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