CNN host Chris Wallace was reportedly told his two poorly rated shows would be canceled and his massive salary cut before the veteran journalist announced he was leaving the network.
Wallace, who was reportedly paid $7 million a year, was told he was welcome to stay on as an analyst but at a much lower salary as part of CEO Mark Thompson’s massive cost-cutting initiatives, according to Puck News.
Instead, Wallace announced earlier this week that he was leaving CNN, portraying the move in an interview with the Daily Beast as a pivot to podcasting and streaming — because “that’s where the action seems to be,” he said.
Wallace insisted he was not involved in discussions with CNN brass about a future role, claiming he made the decision to leave before any discussion took place.
“It doesn’t matter what was or wasn’t said at that meeting, because I and my wife had already decided 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 that I have been between jobs. I’m actually excited and liberated about that,” he said. “Not knowing is part of the challenge. I wait to see what comes across the mirror. Maybe it’s something I haven’t thought about at all.”
CNN hired Wallace in 2021 as one of its marquee stars to helm its upcoming streaming service CNN+.
But once Discovery merged with CNN parent company Warner Media to form Warner Bros. Discovery, the new management eliminated the expensive CNN+ and hundreds of employees.
Wallace stayed on and launched his shows, “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace,” a weekly interview series originally scheduled to air on CNN+ but now airing on Max, and the Saturday morning panel discussion program “The Chris Wallace Show.”
Both shows were suffering from declining ratings — and there had been a lot of fuss among industry sources for some time that the anchor wouldn’t get another lucrative contract, especially as CNN faced its own dire ratings and overhaul under Thompson.
Earlier this week, it was reported that CNN received its worst rating in a key demographic group in a quarter century in the week after the presidential election.
That equated to an average of 61,000 viewers between the ages of 25 and 54 who tuned in on Tuesday, a week after the vote, making it the smallest viewership of that demo since June 27, 2000, when Bill Clinton was in the White House.
Primetime coverage – between 8pm and 11pm – also saw declining ratings with an average of 483,000 since Election Day.
According to the channel, Fox News has brought in 3.4 million.
Meanwhile, “The Chris Wallace Show” drew 450,000 viewers during its most recent broadcast and just 85,000 in the advertiser-coveted 25-to-54-year-old demo, Puck said.
The ratings certainly didn’t justify Wallace’s princely salary at a network that will be cutting hundreds of jobs in the coming months.
CNN’s higher-ups also take a scalpel to the salaries of its biggest names.
Recently, the network denied raises to Jake Tapper, who reportedly makes $7 million, and Wolf Blitzer, who is believed to make about $3 million.
