USC Annenberg Professor Gabriel Kahn was quoted in a story from the Washington Post about the necessary changes being made at CNN.

The biggest challenge facing CNN president Jeff Zucker is keeping CNN “classy and in the middle.” While leaning to the left or the right might increase audience, it could “scare some advertisers.”

And CNN is currently profiting much more than its competitors when it comes to advertising. According to the article, CNN can charge advertisers nearly a dollar more than both Fox and MSNBC to reach a thousand viewers.

“It’s a safer place to be [for advertisers],” said Kahn. “It can be a more boring place to be a viewer, but for an advertiser, you’re not going to hear: ‘Obama was born in Indonesia. Let’s go to a commercial!’ ”

Kahn is the director of the Future of Journalism at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab and the co-director of media, economics and entrepreneurship at USC Annenberg.