CNN’s New Leadership Plans Massive Staff Cuts Following Warner Bros. Discovery Split
Now, one of America’s most well-known news networks is facing a harsh reality check. CNN, once the king of cable news, is about to be spun off from its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. The company announced last week it will split into two parts by mid-2026. One part will keep the streaming and movie studios. The other part – where CNN will land – will hold the less exciting cable TV networks.
“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.”
The person in charge of this new cable company will be Gunnar Wiedenfels, currently the chief financial officer at Warner Bros. Discovery. Putting a money man in charge sends a clear signal – it’s time to cut costs.
One of the biggest problems facing CNN is its bloated payroll. During Jeff Zucker’s time as boss, CNN stars got huge salaries that simply don’t match their drawing power.
For example, Anderson Cooper reportedly makes around $18 million per year. Yet Kaitlan Collins draws similar ratings at about “a fifth of the salary.
These kinds of numbers don’t add up for a network losing viewers and ad dollars. As one insider bluntly put it, CNN needs “palliative care” – a term usually used for patients near the end of life.
“Overall, you could reduce costs at CNN 50-60% with no change to ratings or revenue, and manage the decline from there, with increasing, annual cutbacks as you wind the company down,”
“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.”
The person in charge of this new cable company will be Gunnar Wiedenfels, currently the chief financial officer at Warner Bros. Discovery. Putting a money man in charge sends a clear signal – it’s time to cut costs.
One of the biggest problems facing CNN is its bloated payroll. During Jeff Zucker’s time as boss, CNN stars got huge salaries that simply don’t match their drawing power.
For example, Anderson Cooper reportedly makes around $18 million per year. Yet Kaitlan Collins draws similar ratings at about “a fifth of the salary.
These kinds of numbers don’t add up for a network losing viewers and ad dollars. As one insider bluntly put it, CNN needs “palliative care” – a term usually used for patients near the end of life.
“Overall, you could reduce costs at CNN 50-60% with no change to ratings or revenue, and manage the decline from there, with increasing, annual cutbacks as you wind the company down,”
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