Channel 5 Is Losing News Chief To CNN

Katherine Green, WTTG's vice president of news and the longest-serving news chief among Washington's stations, is leaving Fox-owned Channel 5 to join CNN International as a senior vice president for programming.

"I really love working here, and there aren't many jobs that would draw me away from this," Green said by phone yesterday. "But the opportunity at CNN to work at a global level was one I couldn't walk away from."

Green will leave Channel 5 next month and starts her new job in Atlanta in January.

"Fox 5 appreciates Katherine's hard work and dedication during her more than nine years with our station," the station's vice president and general manager, Duffy Dyer, said in a statement. WTTG would not discuss possible replacements for Green.

During her nine-year tenure at WTTG, Green oversaw a major expansion of its news programming from early mornings to evenings and late night. Most recently, the station launched a 6 p.m. newscast anchored by Brian Bolter. Yesterday Bolter said of Green: "She's always the smartest person in the room, and she's not afraid to let you know it."

WTTG's 10 p.m. newscast is frequently the top-rated "late-night" newscast among all the stations; it airs an hour earlier than its competitors.

Last month, WTTG's year-old 11 p.m. newscast tied with perennial leader WRC (Channel 4) in the 25-to-54 age demographic that local advertisers seek.

Green, who joined WTTG in 1998, said she understands the challenge that arises with the shift from running a local news station to overseeing coverage for an international network. "I can't do everything from a U.S. spin or any other kind of spin," she said. "I have to be mindful now that news is being digested by very diverse groups of people."

CNN International reaches a worldwide audience of 220 million homes.