Longtime CNN Host Demoted To Mornings In Massive Shakeup At Network

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CNN is starting to put some of its most “trusted” names out to pasture.

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The ratings-challenged cable news network on Wednesday announced a dramatic shift in its weekday lineup, one that spells unfortunate news for Wolf Blitzer, the 76-year-old anchorman who has hung around the studios for almost 35 years. Although the change will see Blitzer’s screen time upped by an hour each day, his new slot will garner far fewer eyeballs than the pre-primetime 6 p.m. hour he has held for years.

Neither is network leadership entrusting Blitzer to run his own show anymore. Instead, he will be paired with Pamela Brown, 39, the spunky up-and-comer who has carried the White House’s water as CNN’s chief administration correspondent.

That’s no accident, say insiders. Oliver Darcy, a former CNN media analyst who now writes his own newsletter, reported that CEO Mark Thompson’s day-wide shakeup signals that some of the old guard must make room for the next crop of on-air personalities.

Blitzer just signed a new, multi-year deal, according to the New York Post, but the terms are unclear. However, the deal took place in a tumultuous time when Thompson had already promised to slash the salaries of legacy talent like Blitzer, who reportedly earned up to $15 million per year.

Also headed to the talent stockyard is Jim Acosta, the infamous Trump administration sparring partner who will presumably be losing his post leading the 10 a.m. “CNN Newsroom” show. Whether he remains on the air in some capacity is also unclear.

Kasie Hunt, 39, may be moved up from her pre-dawn show to the 4 p.m. slot, Darcy added. Under that scenario, the former MSNBC anchor would significantly elevate her profile and perhaps her salary; she makes a comparably paltry $1 million or so per year.

The show host shakeup comes amid plummeting ratings for CNN, which recently suffered a 24-year low and was surpassed in viewership by Newsmax, the History Channel, and INSP, a network primarily known for Western TV shows and films. In an August letter to his staff, Thompson promised to incorporate “lifestyle” reporting at CNN, saying TV news “can no longer define us” amid declining trust in, and relevance by, the mainstream media.

For those who can read the writing on the wall, the network’s future only appears murkier. In December, Chris Wallace, the venerable former Fox News anchor, announced he would be leaving CNN after just three years to launch his own podcast, saying, “That seems to be where the action is at.”

For now, other top-earning talents like Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper, who have historically commanded $20 million and $8.5 million a year, respectively, are surviving unscathed. Cooper will continue to host “360” at the primetime 8 p.m. hour, and Tapper appears to be on the upswing. Shifting Hunt to the 4 p.m. block would put him closer to the 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. zone, a ripe time for the post-workday news audience.

Via: Trending Politics.