Things are looking so bad for embattled news network CNN, at least one industry insider says that — whether you agree with the network’s politics or not — everyone should feel sorry for them.
It’s well-documented at this point that Fox News is in a league of its own when it comes to the “Big Three” of the establishment cable news, which also includes MSNBC and CNN.
Not nearly as discussed is the fact that CNN often lags behind even MSNBC when it comes to key metrics like ratings and demographics.
It’s for those reasons and more that the once-venerable news network has become something of a pricey albatross as parent company Warner Bros. Discovery tries to navigate its murky future — and that doesn’t bode well for CNN.
“There’s nothing but tears on the horizon for CNN,” one media insider told Fox News.
As WBD announced June 9, the media conglomerate will be splitting into two entities, with one side focused more on the scripted entertainment side (such as HBO), while the other side focuses on sports and news.
CNN obviously falls under that latter group, which will now be headed by Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.
And that’s bad news, according to a different media insider.
“Putting a bean counter as CEO sends a very clear message: this is finally the beginning of the long-overdue correction of the [Jeff] Zucker-era excesses,” the insider told Fox.
“Gunnar news is not good,” one source told the New York Post. “He is slash and burn.”
Fox added, “Indeed, former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, who was forced out ahead of the 2022 merger, was known for keeping his anchors happy with lofty salaries.”
Former CNN reporter Dylan Byers said, “Inevitably, Gunnar will look at CNN and decide he can maintain relatively similar profits at a mere fraction of the cost. This will have perceptible ramifications on the talent side. Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?”
An unnamed media insider told Fox News, “It’s not just the overpriced talent. It’s the overpriced producers. The overpriced executives. The superfluous reporters who barely are on the air. All will either be exited or forced to take massive pay cuts.
“But it will be most devastating for the rank and file,” the insider added. “With no union protections, there will be massive layoffs and those remaining will be asked to do the work of their departed colleagues.”
Perhaps most ominously, the insider also said that “everyone should feel some sympathy for what’s about to happen,” regardless of one’s stance on the network’s politics.
While the high-priced nature of CNN is clearly an issue that executives are tackling, the ratings issue continues to plague the network.
At the root of those issues is a seeming bias against President Donald Trump that often puts the president and his supporters at odds with CNN.
In fact, CNN is often the direct target of Trump’s ire, typically over its coverage of the president.
According to the Post, CNN has vehemently denied that such cost-cutting was being planned.
“This is a complete fabrication. There is zero truth to this,” a network representative said, according to the New York Post.
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