CNN Lays Off Audio Staffers As CEO Licht Sets Strategy, Shuffles Talent

  • CNN is laying off a small number of people in its audio division.
  • A company rep said audio remains an important area for the company and that it’s refining its strategy.
  • CNN chief Chris Licht has said Warner Bros. Discovery was reviewing resources across the news organization.

CNN is laying off people in its audio division, according to affected staffers. One product manager posted on LinkedIn that their position had been eliminated and that the company told staff it planned to produce fewer audio series in 2023.

Another person who was laid off told Insider that about eight people were affected, impacting editorial and sales. A CNN spokesperson confirmed a small number of cuts in audio took place.

“Audio is an important growth area for the company,” the CNN rep said. “Over the last several years we’ve learned a lot about the topics and productions that most resonate with our audiences. As a result, we’ve refined our strategy to focus our resources more specifically in those areas.”

CNN made a big push into audio in February 2020, announcing a dedicated division and naming leadership to head it, including Lisa Namerow, head of podcast and audio partnerships, Daniel Kantor, CNN’s vice president of podcasts and audio (who left the company in February ), and Megan Marcus, executive producer for CNN Audio.

Earlier this year, CNN expanded its programming with three new podcasts; in recent weeks it announced an Anderson Cooper-hosted podcast on grieving, “All There Is with Anderson Cooper.” Its lineup also includes “CNN 5 Things,” “Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta,” and “The Ax Files With David Axelrod.” No changes have been made to the current slate, the rep said.

CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery has been wielding its own ax as it looks to wring $3 billion in synergies out of the recently combined company. More than 239 staffers were cut when WBD shuttered the network’s streaming app, CNN+, just one month after its launch. Other areas that have been cut include most of HBO Max’s non-scripted division and TBS/TNT’s scripted teams. Sales teams at the company have also been hit.

New CNN chief Chris Licht has been making his mark on the network’s lineup, shuffling talent in daytime and primetime. He previously stressed that there won’t be mandatory layoffs at the network but that leadership was reviewing the organization to see if resources were being used in the right way. Still, the departures of big names like Brian Stelter and John Harwood have left some unnerved, while tightened rules around T&E have hurt morale.

Have a CNN tip to share? Contact Lucia Moses at [email protected] or (917) 209-8549 on Signal/text.

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