The strong ratings for Tuesdays Democratic Presidential debate have surprised CNN executives, who are now tentatively considering introducing substance into their programming. The president of CNN, Jeff Zucker, acknowledged that he was baffled by the high ratings for the debate, which focussed on the issues and featured few if any personal attacks. I was watching them talk about issue after issue, and I was like, This show is gonna tank, Zucker said. Substance is usually ratings poison. After reviewing the numbers for the debate, however, Zucker decided to launch a pilot program at CNN called Project Substance, which will introduce information and substance-based content into the networks programming, on a limited basis. Just to be clear, were not suddenly going to flood our programming with substance, Zucker said. We know that would be jarring for our viewers. By implementing a dash of substance here and there, the network will be able to gauge whether viewers interest in substance is for real, or just a passing fad, Zucker said. If, at the end of the day, viewers arent interested in serious news, well just go back to what weve been doing, he said. 