Sure, seems like a great time for CNN to have mass layoffs

In what feels in no way like a really pretty fucking scary time to have yet another American news organization face any level of dismantling, reports came out today suggesting that 24-hour news network CNN is about to be hit with hundreds of layoffs. The plan is apparently part of a long-form plan that’s been in the works at Warner Bros. Discovery for a while to focus more on digital news properties, and was apparently postponed until the aftermath of the 2024 election. But it still doesn’t feel great, canary-and-coal-mines-wise, to see CNN cutting back in this exact moment of the ol’ American political experiment.

The news was reported by CNBC, which says “hundreds” of CNN layoffs are about to come rolling out some time on Thursday, as the organization attempts to re-focus its efforts toward more digital offerings. Don’t expect the cuts to impact on-air talent, who are mostly protected by contracts; instead, they’ll hit many of the roughly 3,500 people who work off-camera for the network. Some jobs might be moved instead of outright eliminated, per sources, with possible plans to relocate production from more expensive cities like New York and Los Angeles to Atlanta.

The irony is that, earlier this month, CNN CEO Mark Thompson revealed that Warner Bros. had just given the network an additional $70 million to fund operations; however, all of that cash is apparently earmarked for more online and digital production. (CNN.com also recently instituted a $3.99 a month paywall for its heaviest users, suggesting an ever-increasing focus on digital production.) Even so, it feels impossible not to note that this is all happening just as one of the network’s most vocal and cantankerous critics has re-taken the White House. CNN isn’t one of the multiple news organizations Donald Trump has sued in recent months—the network sued him back in 2018 for yanking correspondent Jim Acosta’s White House press credentials, but ultimately dropped the case—but he’s been a vocal and endlessly loud critic of the network.