CNN anchor Chris Wallace was reportedly told his two poorly rated shows would be canceled and his massive salary slashed before the veteran journalist announced he would leave the network.
Wallace, who was being paid a reported $7 million a year, was informed that he was welcome to stay on as an analyst but at a much lower salary as part of CEO Mark Thompson’s vast cost-cutting initiatives, according to Puck News.
Instead, Wallace announced earlier this week that he was exiting CNN, and portrayed the move in a Daily Beast interview as a pivot to podcasting and streaming — because “that’s where the action seems to be,” he said.
Wallace insisted that he wasn’t engaged in any discussions with CNN brass about a future role, claiming he made the decision to leave before any discussions took place.
“It doesn’t matter what was or wasn’t said in that meeting because I had already decided with my wife six months ago to leave CNN,” Wallace told Puck News on Thursday. “Any further speculation is irrelevant.”
Wallace, who spent three years at CNN and 18 years at Fox News, said in his exit interview with the Beast that he was “excited” to be “between jobs.”
“This is the first time in 55 years I’ve been between jobs. I am actually excited and liberated by that,” he said. “Not knowing is part of the challenge. I‘m waiting to see what comes over the transom. It might be something that I haven’t thought of at all.”
CNN hired Wallace in 2021 to be one of its big stars to helm its nascent streaming service, CNN+.
But as soon as Discovery merged with CNN-parent Warner Media to form Warner Bros. Discovery, new management axed the expensive CNN+ and hundreds of staffers.
Wallace stayed on and launched his shows, “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” a weekly interview series that was originally supposed to air on CNN+ but now airs on Max, and Saturday morning panel discussion program “The Chris Wallace Show.”
Both programs suffered flagging ratings — and there was much buzz among industry sources for some time that the anchor would not get another lucrative contract, especially as CNN was facing its own abysmal ratings and overhaul under Thompson.
Earlier this week, it was reported that CNN suffered its worst rating in a key demographic in a quarter of a century in the week after the presidential election.
That amounted to an average of 61,000 viewers between ages 25 and 54 tuned in on Tuesday, a week after the vote, making it the smallest audience viewership in that demo since June 27, 2000, when Bill Clinton was in the White House.
Primetime coverage — between 8 and 11 p.m. — also saw sinking ratings with an average of 483,000 since Election Day.
Fox News reeled in 3.4 million, according to the network.
Meanwhile, in its most recent broadcast, “The Chris Wallace Show” drew 450,000 viewers and just 85,000 in the advertiser-coveted 25-to-54-year-old demo, according to Puck.
The ratings certainly did not justify Wallace’s princely salary at a network that is slated to slash hundreds of jobs in the coming months.
CNN higher-ups are also taking a scalpel to the salaries of its biggest names.
Recently, the network denied raises to Jake Tapper, who makes a reported $7 million, and to Wolf Blitzer, who is believed to make roughly $3 million.