Cable news isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days when unbiased stories are aired to the American public by people who don’t have an agenda. And CNN is one of the biggest contributors to that sad fact of life.
But unlike some other big-name and just as biased networks such as MSNBC or Fox, CNN isn’t getting anything out of all that bias. In fact, it’s killing them.
And so when a new CEO was recently brought on board, it’s been no surprise that some major changes are coming – and to those who have the most to lose.
You know, those big CNN names like Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper, and Chris Wallace.
According to The Wrap, who recently spoke to network insiders, new CEO Mark Thompson’s first plan of action to right this capsizing ship is to throw out some of those huge salaries and maybe the people they belong to as well.
As the insiders pointed out, Anderson Cooper of “Anderson Cooper 360” makes a whopping $20 million a year. And yet, his show, the most popular on the entire network, can’t even amass one million in average viewership. According to CNN data, only about 717,000 tune in to see Cooper’s show.
So it makes little sense to Thompson to continue to pay Cooper so much when he’s not bringing nearly that much in return.
The same is the case for Blitzer who gets $15 million a year, Tapper with a salary of $8.5 million, and Wallace’s $8 million per year.
That’s a ton of money going out only to earn about 668,000 average primetime viewers, according to The Wrap.
Plus, there is the fact that CNN is now eclipsed in views by the likes of just about everyone, including Fox News, The History Channel, and even televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.
And since Thompson comes from publicly funded BBC and The New York Times, where salaries are never that much, the idea of keeping wages in the millions is likely just about as absurd as it is to you and me.
Perhaps it will bring the egos of those affected down a bit, too.
