CNN Worldwide to enlarge its correspondent staff

CNN Worldwide plans to enroll 10 percent of correspondent staff to increase CNN's ability to generate original news content.

Photo: CNN Worldwide to enlarge its correspondent staff

CNN Worldwide, a unit of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc., said it will invest just under $10 million (6.8 million EUR) to add 15 or 16 correspondents to its existing staff of 150.

The announcement comes two months after CNN said it would not renew its contract to receive news from Reuters Group PLC and instead bolster its own news resources.

As consumers increasingly turn to the Internet or mobile devices to get their news, media companies that generate more of their own content will be in position to receive advertising revenue across all forms of distribution.

"Owning the content we broadcast, publish and make available to affiliates and other platforms is the backbone of this business," Tony Maddox, executive vice president of CNN International, said in a prepared statement.

The centerpiece of the investment is the expansion of the CNN bureau in the United Arab Emirates, where it currently operates CNN.com Arabic. CNN, which trails News Corp.'s Fox News Channel in the ratings, said its international unit will use some of the money for a digital-production unit in London and to increase staff in Hong Kong.

CNN will also hire staff in Johannesburg and Mexico City, and said it plans news operations in Afghanistan, Belgium, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Poland and Vietnam.

The changes are expected to take effect early next year, a CNN spokesman said.