IT’S OFFICIAL: FORMER FOX CHAIRMAN REILLY HEADING TO TURNER

In the wake of rumors that hit numerous entertainment websites on Monday saying that Kevin Reilly, former chairman of Fox Entertainment, was in talks to become president of Turner Broadcasting channels TBS and TNT, the Time Warner unit confirmed them on Tuesday. In a statement, the company said that Reilly will also take on the post of chief creative officer for Turner Entertainment. His appointment comes as Turner begins a personnel rollback; it has said that it is cutting 10 percent of its workforce, or nearly 1,500 jobs. However, on Tuesday, Turner Broadcasting President David Levy maintained that Reilly’s addition comes at "an ideal time for him and for the [Turner] networks." And Reilly himself appeared to ignore the company’s retrenchment plans when he said in a statement, "We are going to use the considerable resources at Turner to entice top talent, create world-class content and meet and engage consumers in a contemporary fashion." How that would be accomplished while at the same time cutting costs was a question that would be left open presumably for a follow-up news conference down the road.