As we reported on Wednesday, CNN CEO Chris Licht announced there were going to be more layoffs that are expected to hit hundreds of employees. The latest layoffs are largely going to hit paid contributors, Licht said in a statement.
CNN boss Chris Licht informs employees in an all-staff note that layoffs are underway.
Licht says those being notified today are largely paid contributors and then tomorrow CNN "will notify impacted employees."
Licht will then provide an update to staff afterward. pic.twitter.com/nD0pt9Ruwj
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) November 30, 2022
There’s more news on that and who in particular is getting the boot, including one name with whom you might be familiar: Chris Cillizza.
HLN, the cable network once known as CNN Headline News, is home to a bevy of true-crime series, endless showings of “Forensic Files,” and “Morning Express with Robin Meade,” with a host who has been at the network since 2001. Now, all of that is under the microscope. In addition, a number of popular correspondents and journalists were terminated from the Warner Bros. Discovery backed outlet Thursday. [….]
CNN executives were expected to inform staffers about layoffs at the network Thursday morning, according to these people. CNN correspondents Alison Kosik, Martin Savidge, Alex Field, Mary Ann Fox and Chris Cillizza are among the staffers who have been let go, according to two people familiar with the matter. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment.
Who can forget Cillizza’s most infamous quote?
— Dr. Nickarama (@nickaramaOG) December 1, 2022
How about what Cillizza attacked President Donald Trump for–calling the BLM riots “riots.” He said it was a sign of President Donald Trump’s “desperation.”
— Ryan (@alwaysonoffense) December 1, 2022
Of course, those are just a couple of examples of his bad legacy.
You’ve been employed this whole time? pic.twitter.com/Vwdgsc27xg
— Ryan the millennial Dad (checkmark) (@patriotic_giant) December 1, 2022
According to him, he was getting an eight-figure salary for his ridiculous brand of “journalism.”
The one thing that might unite a divided country is that everyone agrees that Cillizza deserved the boot.
Cillizza’s journalist accomplishments include wondering out loud whether a fictional Marvel Comics city could become reality and celebrating a Trumpian “epic fast food photo.” He is the proverbial Woodward and Bernstein of the bad take, managing to take incoming fire from all directions over how bad his opinions are. The former tech website Mashable ran the numbers behind Cillizza’s ratios and found him ahead of even MSNBC pundit Joy Reid, former Bush official turned blogger David Frum and The View’s Ana Navarro (who also might be on the outs at CNN).
Now, that’s a tantalizing tease about Navarro.
Cillizza follows the axing of Chris Cuomo, Brian Stelter, John Harwood, and former boss Jeff Zucker. Don Lemon has also got demoted to the morning show. This, all as part of Licht’s effort to bring the network back to a more straight news take.
But break out the popcorn, because there’s more to come.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member