CNN Staff Braces for More 'Brutal' Cutbacks

CNN employees at bureaus in New York, Atlanta, and Washington D.C. are bracing for more staff cutbacks, according to The Daily Caller citing a report.

The report said that the cuts are likely to happen in December but could possibly happen earlier.

"Several CNN staffers are scared to death," a media insider told The Mirror, the Caller said. "CNN is going to get hit hard. There is apprehension, especially in Atlanta. December is going to be brutal."

Fifteen employees were fired from the D.C. office in recent weeks, including booker Stephanie Kotuby, CNN Washington opinion editor Bryan Monroe, and national correspondent Shannon Travis, the Caller said.

In a memo sent to Turner Broadcasting employees last week, CEO John Martin said that as part of the company’s "Turner 20/20" plan there would be a corporate restructuring "in the next two months," CapitalNewYork.com reported.

Martin implied that there would be widespread changes and layoffs across the entire company, which includes CNN, TNT, TBS, Turner Sports, and Cartoon Network.

In May, an estimated 50 jobs were cut from CNN, mainly in New York, though
employees in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Washington were also affected, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which noted that the network planned to rehire some of the laid-off workers.

Two months ago, Variety's senior TV editor Brian Steinberg revealed that CNN’s new focus on entertainment reporting instead of hard news had met with resistance from ad buyers.

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