CNN is planning to wield the axe on some of its high-paid staff after dismal election ratings that cap off a disastrous period for the cable news network. According to an explosive new report from Puck, network executives will unleash sweeping lay-offs in a bid to save the network’s flailing reputation.
It comes after the departure of stalwart Chris Wallace, and amid reports senior stars like Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper have both been denied raises. There is no mention of who may be on the chopping block.
The highest paid stars include Anderson Cooper – who rakes in $20million a year – Erin Burnett ($6million) and rising star Kaitlan Collins ($3million).
The rumblings, first reported by Puck News, come as stars like Anderson Cooper continue to take home salaries of $20million despite waning ratings
‘In the next few months, I’m told, CNN will implement another round of layoffs that will impact hundreds of employees across the organization,’ reporter Dylan Byers wrote Friday, referencing CNN’s recent 100-person layoff seen over the summer.
The fresh round of firings, the insiders said, will be more geared toward the production side of things.
As a result, reporters and correspondents will be required to cover their slack, they said – describing how on-air workers will be ‘asked to assume more of the responsibilities once handled by teams of producers and production assistants.’
Byers wrote: ‘Redundant assignments will be nixed, and various divisions will be reduced or even eliminated.
‘Some of the on-air talent are also likely to be affected,’ he went on to reveal.
Sources who spoke to the reporter, who worked at CNN for three years before founding Puck, added how the looming layoffs are part of an overarching plan – one that puts a premium on the station’s digital platforms.
The man behind it, they said, is none other than new CEO Mark Thompson – the former New York Times boss brought in to overhaul the network under its Warner Bros. Discovery parent.
The old BBC boss filled the position left by then-languishing leader Chris Licht this past August, and since then, ratings have fallen more than 20 percent.
The news also comes as veteran anchors Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer were reportedly recently denied raises – after already raking in salaries of $3million and $7million, respectively
Under Licht – a tenure that lasted a little over a year – the station fell from being the most-watched cable news network on election nights, to one of the least.
In 2016, when it was headed by since-ousted leader Jeff Zucker, it was the most watched network overall – a distinction that’s now held by Fox News.
At the time, CNN had averaged 13.3million viewers in primetime. Today, it’s only around 800,000.
Right-leaning Fox hosts like Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity, and Greg Gutfeld, meanwhile, are averaging 2.8 million viewers in the same timeslots – the most in a field that’s currently being affected by streaming and other forms of media.
Adding insult to injury was CNN’s struggles on election day – a day that eight years ago would’ve seen it score a decisive ratings victory.
However, following a Trump presidency and a term from the Biden Administration, it lost to MSNBC in terms of ratings – something never seen before as it only drew in 5.1million sets of eyes that night.
MSNBC, meanwhile, raked in 6million – a number eclipsed almost twofold by Fox News’ 10.3million.
The numbers, aired this week in the form of Nielsen statistics, appear to show a shifting field when it comes to cable news – one seemingly set to continue with Trump’s second term in office.
