Fox News Fires Paula Zahn; CNN Offers Her Morning Show

News personality Paula Zahn was fired by Fox News Channel on Wednesday, and received a job offer from the network’s rival, CNN, hours later.

Zahn, who hosted the nightly news show “The Edge With Paula Zahn” on the News Corp.-owned cable news channel, was terminated for breach of contract, said Fox News executives.

Dianne Brandi, vice president of legal affairs for FNC, said the action was taken after Zahn received a written offer from CNN to host a show there. Brandi said Zahn was contractually forbidden to entertain any job offers until Feb. 28, 2002, the expiration date on her FNC pact.

Jack Abernaty, FNC’s executive vice president, said he considers the acts of Zahn’s representatives “to be unscrupulous, and her actions to be disloyal to the network.”

Walter Isaacson, chairman and chief executive of AOL Time Warner’s CNN denied Zahn or CNN had acted “dishonorably.” He expects Zahn’s show to debut on CNN in the spring. “She’s just what we need for a smart, savvy and journalistic morning show,” Isaacson added.

Zahn later confirmed through a spokesperson that she had received an offer from the cable news network. “I’m very excited about joining CNN. They have offered me a great opportunity,” she said.

The spokesperson added, “Paula Zahn takes her journalistic and contractual obligations very seriously, and has honored her contract to Fox News Channel. Ms. Zahn, CNN and Ms. Zahn’s representatives, N.S. Bienstock Inc., have acted with the highest degree of professionalism and integrity during this process.”