The week started ominously.

On Tuesday, Washington Post media reporter Jeremy Barr tweeted, “CNN C.E.O. Mark Thompson foreshadowed some big shifts coming at CNN at an all-bureau meeting in London today. Thompson: ‘Immense change is coming, and I don’t use that lightly.’”

On Thursday, we started to learn more about what those immense changes could look like. The Wrap’s Emily Smith reported that Thompson wants to “fund his digital-first transformation by cutting anchor salaries.”

Thompson has a grand plan to reform CNN, turning focus toward the digital product.

In a memo to staff last month, Thompson called it a “true multimedia strategy.” He added, “So far CNN has been slow to respond to the challenge. Perhaps that’s not surprising: the CNN of today is no longer that buccaneering outsider but a tenured incumbent. You still see our strength when big stories break. We still sport brilliant on-air, digital and producing talent and have one of the world’s most visited news websites. But, despite all these strengths, there’s currently too little innovation and risk-taking. Like so many other news players with a broadcast heritage, CNN’s linear services and even its website can sometimes have an old-fashioned and unadventurous feel as if the world has changed and they haven’t.”

So how does Thompson go about that transformation?

Rich Greenfield, a partner and media and tech analyst at LightShed Partners, told The Wrap, “The first thing they need to do is dramatically reduce costs. If you work at CNN your compensation is going to go down dramatically over the next … five years, there’s just no other way around it.”

In The Wrap, Smith noted that some of CNN’s top salaries are Anderson Cooper (estimated $20 million), Wolf Blitzer ($15 million), Jake Tapper ($8.5 million) and Chris Wallace ($8 million). Although it also should be noted that the contracts of Cooper and Tapper don’t expire for, possibly, another year or two.

Thompson wrote in his memo last month that he “passionately believe(s) that outstanding and high-profile talent will continue to be a central thread in the CNN story,” but also wrote, “change is essential if we’re to secure this great news company’s future.”

Check out Smith’s story for more details, including how CNN’s possible strategy of using few anchors, and how MSNBC might be interested in picking up talent should CNN lay off a big name or two.

Layoffs at The Intercept

More grim journalism layoff news. The Intercept, a nonprofit investigative news outlet, is laying off 15, including Editor-in-Chief Roger Hodge.

New York Times media reporter Benjamin Mullin obtained the internal memo that said, in part, “Like many news outlets, The Intercept is facing significant financial challenges. To become sustainable, we need to make some changes.”

The memo added, “This is a difficult and emotional day for all of us. We are losing colleagues who reported, edited and produced vital journalism and have done incredible work to bring important stories to life. We are grateful for all their contributions.”

Now more media news, tidbits and links for your weekend review …

• And this headline pretty much says it all — The Daily Beast’s Julia Davis with “Putin Says He Was Not Impressed by Tucker Carlson.” About his recent interview with Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a Russian interviewer, “Sincerely speaking, I didn’t fully enjoy this interview. Frankly, I thought he would behave aggressively and ask tough questions. I wasn’t just prepared for this, I wanted it!”
• Powerful essay in The Atlantic from Dara Horn: “Why the Most Educated People in America Fall for Anti-Semitic Lies.” Horn was on Harvard’s antisemitism advisory committee under former president Claudine Gay.
• The Baltimore Banner’s Ben Conarck with “Why is the suicide rate so high at this Maryland jail?”
• Mediaite’s Ahmad Austin Jr. writes about podcaster Dan Le Batard’s reading alarming gun statistics following the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade on Wednesday. On his show Thursday, Le Batard noted Wednesday’s shooting in Kansas City came on the sixth anniversary of the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Le Batard said, “So, it’s been like 2,000 days, and since then, according to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 3,370 mass shootings in America. That’s one-and-a-half a day since Parkland. The past six years since Parkland, guns in America have either killed or injured 5,355 children — children! — ages 11 and under. Also, 25,000 between the ages of 12 and 17. That’s 5,100 kids a year.” Le Batard added, “How is America worse at this than everyone else? Forty-ninth mass shooting this year was (Wednesday).”
• Scripps News anchor Del Walters gets choked up while commentating on Wednesday’s shooting in Kansas City.
• The Wall Street Journal’s Ben Glickman with “Arena Group Says It Is Still in Talks With Sports Illustrated Owner.”
• Also from The Wall Street Journal: Robert McMillan, Alexa Corse and Dustin Volz with “New Era of AI Deepfakes Complicates 2024 Elections.”
• A heartbreaking read. For ProPublica, Stacy Kranitz and Kavitha Surana with “The Year After a Denied Abortion.”
• A wild story from The Cut: Charlotte Cowles with “The Day I Put $50,000 in a Shoe Box and Handed It to a Stranger.”
• For Esquire, Matthew Bremner with “What Really Happened to Baby Christina?”
• It’s official: JJ Redick will join Mike Breen and Doris Burke on ESPN’s lead NBA broadcast team, calling the NBA Finals. On his podcast, Redick said, “Number one, wow, what an honor. … I’m honored for a number of reasons. The two that stick out the most for me is when you call a game, when you commentate on the NBA, you are part of the documentation of NBA history. And I take that role and responsibility very seriously, and the fact that I get to document this year’s NBA Finals? I’m thrilled. The second reason I’m so honored is that Mike and Doris are GOATS. These are Hall of Famers. These are two people that I’ve known for 15-20 years, each of them. Getting to work alongside two people that I just admire so much is just an honor.”

More resources for journalists

• The 2024 Poynter Journalism Prizes are open for entries. To enter, go to the contest website. The deadline for entries is today, Feb. 16.
• Delve more deeply into your editing skills with Poynter ACES Intermediate Certificate in Editing. Start anytime.
• Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders (Seminar) (May) — Apply by March 26.
• Lead With Influence (Seminar) (June) — Apply by May 6.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

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