1 week Ago By Lauren DuBois
Cable network CNN is reportedly planning to engage in mass layoffs after it has continued to see ratings plummet . A new report says that some of those getting the boot will include some of the highest-paid staff–including some network stars. The network has been seeing declining ratings for some time, and things haven’t improved following election season, which saw them as the live broadcasters for President Joe Biden ’s controversial remark seen as calling President-elect Donald Trump's supporters “garbage.
” In addition, it has taken some controversial viewpoints, including about Elon Musk’ s relationship to the Trump family , and whether or not the 47th President will “grow tired” of the X owner . The coverage of the election didn’t allegedly help the network rebuild its ratings numbers, and amid other shocking decisions regarding top talent, more is set to come. According to an explosive new report, executives are planning on unleashing a sweeping round of layoffs next.
Following the departures of Chris Wallace and denial of raises to Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper, some of the highest paid stars could be on the chopping block. “In the next few months, I’m told, CNN will implement another round of layoffs that will impact hundreds of employees across the organization,” Puck reporter Dylan Byers (via The Daily Mail ) wrote. It’s believed that the fresh round of firings will be geared more towards the production side of things, and could affect a large number of people and the way things are handled afterward.
“Redundant assignments will be mixed, and various divisions will be reduced or even eliminated,” Byers wrote. “Some of the on-air talent are also likely to be affected.” While nothing has been revealed in terms of who would be on the chopping block if the firings do affect big names, the highest-paid talent includes Anderson Cooper, who makes $20 million a year, Erin Burnett, who makes $6 million, and Kaitlan Collins, who makes $3 million.
It comes as the leadership once again struggles to bring ratings up, with new CEO Mark Thompson seeing ratings fall more than 20 percent since taking over for Chris Licht in August. Licht’s tenure saw the station fall from being the most-watched cable news network on election nights to one of the least. When Jeff Zucker ran the network back in 2016, it was the most watched network, averaging 13.
3 million viewers in primetime. Today, the number sits more around 800,000. Don't miss: Biden calls Trum supporters 'garbage' live on CNN then tries to backtrack on X [LATEST] CNN panelist Ryan Girdusky's 'beeper' jab gets him banned from network [UPDATE] Kari Lake gets shut down by CNN host and slammed for weird face filter [INSIGHT] The election coverage this year saw the network only drawing in 5.
1 million viewers on election night, causing it to fall behind MSNBC, which raked in $6 million, and Fox News, which decimated the competition with 10.3 million viewers. The firings will potentially make way for the network to focus more on its digital programs.
They are set to occur over the next few months..
