CNN has started laying off employees in anticipation of multiple job cuts due to Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The mainstream media is feeling the effect.
The struggling cable network is also planning to revamp its TV schedule, boost digital subscriptions, and relocate its production to Atlanta. CNN’s new CEO Mark Thompson aims to transform the network for the better, clarifying that the layoffs are not solely about cost-cutting.
The layoffs were initially reported in November and follow about 100 cuts the network made over the summer.
At least one big name producer has reportedly learned they’re out of a job on Wednesday, with many more set to be told on Thursday, Status reported.
Many shows are also rumored to be moving from New York and Washington to Atlanta, where production costs are cheaper, according to CNBC.
Insiders told Puck back in November that the firings were likely to lean closer to the production side of things.
During a recent meeting, Thompson stressed the need for unbiased coverage of the President, embracing a more dispassionate and impartial approach. The changes are part of an effort to reshape and improve CNN’s image.
Employees at the network have described the vibes as ‘anxious’ and ‘nauseous’ as closed-door meetings take place to determine the future of the network.
CNN has already begun laying off the first of what is set to be hundreds of staffers as mainstream media begins to cut jobs with Donald Trump returning to the White House
New CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a meeting last month that the layoffs were not to cut costs but to ‘change CNN’ and ‘make it better’
Their competitors are set to do the same, as NBC News is also planning to lay off ‘a few dozen’ workers Thursday as well.
Staffers at ABC News – following the network’s highly publicized settlement with Trump – are also worried that cuts are about to come, though no specific date has been set.
However, a source at the network said that ‘everyone is on edge’ and despite all three being ‘highly profitable,’ their business models are said to be broken.
Status added that there are likely to be more cuts to follow in the years to come.
President Trump commented on the matter on Truth Social: ‘MSDNC is even worse than CNN. They shouldn’t even have a right to broadcast – Only in America!’
DailyMail.com has reached out to CNN, ABC News and NBC News for comment.
The network has just gone through an embarrassing lawsuit after they defamed an Afghan war veteran by falsely accusing him of running a ‘black market’ for Afghanistan evacuations and must pay him $5 million damages.
The network has been battling sagging ratings and vows from conservative lawmakers including Trump himself to crack down on what they claim is an unfair liberal bias.
President Trump commented on the matter on Truth Social
While big names like Kaitlan Collins will be spared in the layoffs, the entire TV lineup is said to be facing a restructure
The rumblings, first reported by Puck News, come as stars like Anderson Cooper continue to take home salaries of $20million despite waning ratings
CNN’s exodus was first reported on in November, as stalwart Chris Wallace, and amid reports senior stars like Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper have both been denied raises.
The highest paid remaining stars include Anderson Cooper – who rakes in $20million a year – Erin Burnett ($6million) and rising star Kaitlan Collins ($3million).
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.’
Puck News’ Dylan 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.
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 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 in November 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
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.’
As for 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.
