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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).
CNN is set to nix some of its top talent in a round of post-election layoffs, according to a new report based on insider insight
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.
Erin Burnett and Kaitlan Collins also command inflated earnings – $3million and $6million apiece
The architect of the layoffs is CEO Mark Thompson, who was hired late last summer to right a sinking ship following the failures of predecessor Chris Licht
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.
Veteran news anchor Chris Wallace announced Monday he will be leaving CNN after several years – and after making an $8.5million salary. Insiders previously said they were pondering a pay-cut for the 77-year-old
‘Hundreds’ will be laid off as a result, insiders said – speaking to a former CNN staffer. Pictured, CNN’s headquarters at Hudson Yards in Manhattan
The network’s struggles over the past eight years have seen it replaced by Fox News as the top dog in cable. Pictured, Fox News anchors Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier on election night, where it beat CNN by nearly 5million viewers.
To combat this, CNN plans to create new positions that will service Thompson’s new digital-first vision, the unnamed insiders told Byers – with one source positing how the incoming changes may even yield a net gain of employees.
Still, if the insiders warning prove true, hundreds of others will lose their positions, the sources said – describing to Byers a climate at the outfit’s Manhattan office rife with ‘stress and high anxiety.’
The firings are set to come within the next few months, they said – not offering any more detail.
Who will be affected remains to be seen.
It was revealed Monday that longtime host Chris Wallace would not have his $8.5 million-a-year contract renewed, with the 77-year-old confirming the development in an interview with the Daily Beast as he pondered a full-time podcasting career.
‘This is the first time in 55 years I‘ve been between jobs,’ he said that same day. ‘I am actually excited and liberated by that.’
As for other high-paid figures like Cooper and Burnett, their fates remain uncertain.
Days earlier, The Ankler had reported that Tapper and Blitzer were denied raises, and that officials were mulling a pay cut for Wallace.
The newsletter also revealed how Tapper was instead resigned to a three-year contract – one that would seem him paid the same $7million annually that he had earned in years past.
From dailymail.co.uk
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