Paula Zahn is leaving CNN after six years

Paula Zahn is leaving CNN, turning her prime-time slot over to Campbell Brown.

Zahn's final program will be Aug. 2. Others will fill in until November, when Brown - newly hired from NBC News - will start, CNN said Tuesday.

Zahn has been at the network for nearly six years since jumping from Fox News Channel - her first day on the job Sept. 11, 2001. She said she expected to stay in television after taking some time off.

"For the first time in 30 years, I'm going to take a break here," said Zahn, 51.

Although her ratings are up this year, Zahn has had a tough time competing in a time slot dominated by Bill O'Reilly on Fox News Channel and Keith Olbermann at MSNBC. Rumors have spread for months that CNN was looking to make a change.

"As all of the stories were being written, [CNN U.S. president] Jon Klein and I were talking very amicably about where we both wanted to go," she told the Associated Press. "You're not going to survive very long in this business if you internalize every rumor that is out there. To a certain extent, my staff and I were able to drown out the noise and do what we were expected to do."

She and veteran executive producer Victor Neufeld had found a niche in recent months reporting extensively on issues of race relations, and Zahn said she was proud of that work. CNN had several times changed the focus of Zahn's show looking for something to catch on, including a focus on politics and emphasis on longer-form stories.

"We are grateful for her dedication, professionalism and class over the last six years," Klein said.

Return of the traitor. Turncoat Michael is making a Lost comeback.

Harold Perrineau, who plays the character last seen betraying his fellow crash survivors to save himself and his son, will return to the show next season, ABC said yesterday.

ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson didn't offer any details of what's in store for Michael. He also didn't say whether Walt, the son played by Malcolm David Kelley, would be seen again.

The pair fled the mysterious island where the crash victims were struggling to survive against the dangerous "Others," with desperate Michael turning over his friends in exchange for escape.

The network had planned to make the Lost announcement at Comic-Con International, the comic book and pop-culture show starting today in San Diego. But McPherson, speaking to a meeting of the Television Critics Association, was pressed for the information.

McPherson initially balked at talking, instead joking about what the announcement might be.

"I've cast Don Imus on Lost," McPherson quipped.

Earlier this year, ABC said it would run for three more seasons, concluding in 2009-10. The series will return for its fourth season in January.