Earlier this week, Chris Wallace shocked audiences by announcing that he was leaving CNN to go into podcasting. Well, it turns out his exit wasn't entirely up to him. Wallace was just the first that the network reportedly gave the boot.
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According to Puck News, CNN's CEO Mark Thompson decided to axe both of Wallace's shows. They offered him a greatly-reduced role at the company. They offered him the ability to stay on as an analyst. Up until now, Wallace was making $7 million. He turned down the role, which had a much smaller salary.
Instead, he quit the company and presented his exit from CNN as his own choice. Wallace is venturing into podcasting, but he doesn't have a job lined up right now. Meanwhile, Wallace says the report is false, saying he never discusedd other options because he had alreadyd ecided to leave.
"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. "Any further speculation is irrelevant."
Wallace has said that he's excited by the unknowing future.
"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."
Chriss Wallace Out The Door
Meanwhile, even Anderson Cooper is reportedly on the chopping block. Unnamed journalists describe the situation at CNN as tense.
"We know that the numbers have been going down a lot, and the tensions have been very high for long months now, as we are getting many signs that people are gonna be fired and axed very soon," a journalist on the network told the U.S Sun.
They added, "We have been talking a lot lately, and the result of the elections, as we haven't had great numbers, is pretty much putting the last nail in the coffin for many workers. Some of us have already been approached by some media outlets, like Al Jazeera or even Fox News, and some platforms in the USA and abroad."
CNN stars feel confident they can find other work. But other team members are fretting a rumored layoff.
