CNN has quietly laid off a handful of staffers in its Washington DC bureau.
We hear that most of the departures were senior level producers and staff, many on specific beats like the White House, national security and the Department of Justice, and who had been with the channel for a long time. The departures are said to be related to a realignment of resources, and re-designing of some of the production roles.
To that end, CNN is not expected to reduce headcount. Rather, it will be posting a number of new job listings for roles in the bureau. Reading between the lines: staffers who had been at the channel for a long time are departing in favor of younger, less expensive staff.
“The network just sent a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge and people with good sources and contacts out the door,” a CNN source says. “This will definitely impact CNN’s coverage when it comes to being out front on certain types of stories.”
In addition to staffers that were laid off, some other senior level staffers opted to depart the company on their own over the last month or so, another source says.
Earlier today CNN announced that it would be reviving “Crossfire,” the political debate show that was canceled back in 2005. With the addition of “Crossfire,” CNN will be adding Newt Gingrich and S.E. Cupp to its political talent roster in DC.
Yesterday, CNN shuttered its CNN Radio unit and laid off the staff there. CNN Radio was responsible for creating long-form audio content for the channel’s digital platforms.