New York Magazine
CBS News and CNN are in advanced negotiations about signing a news-gathering partnership, according to executives familiar with the discussions. The talks revolve around how the two news divisions can combine operations in a bid to cut costs and expand audiences on both sides.
While such conversations have occurred over the last decade, the current news-business climate–plummeting CNN ratings, ever-shrinking evening-news audiences, major layoffs at ABC– make a deal more logical than ever before. The talks are still fluid, which means that executives would speak only on condition of anonymity, but CNN and CBS began negotiations some time ago.
“It’s been going on for a couple of months,” one person with knowledge of the matter said. “Theyre in deep talks.” More…