Cartoon Network Chief Steps Down Over Marketing Debacle

ATLANTA, February 9: Jim Samples, the executive VP and
general manager of Cartoon Network, resigned today over the cable network’s
marketing ploy that caused a bomb scare in Boston last week.

Cartoon Network has not yet formally announced Samples’
exit, but the news was confirmed to World Screen Newsflash by a spokesperson at the cable channel. In a memo
Samples sent to staffers, he noted: "As general manager of Cartoon
Network, I feel compelled to step down, effective immediately, in recognition
of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch.”

Cartoon Network’s parent company, Turner Broadcasting
System, and the New York-based marketing firm Interference will shell out a
total of $2 million to cover the costs of the bomb scare, where electronic
devices used to promote Adult Swim’s Aqua
Teen Hunger Force led to the closure of
highways, bridges and subway stations.

Until a new EVP and GM is named, the cable channel’s
executives will report to Mark Lazarus, the president of the Turner Entertainment
Group.