Anderson Cooper’s alleged salary has been revealed, and it is absolutely shocking.
On Thursday, the New York Post reported that Cooper rakes in an absurd $18 million a year. Without further explanation, any reasonable person following the news cycle over the last decade already knows Cooper is not worth that amount.
No one at CNN is worth that, to be honest, although Scott Jennings should be paid handsomely for having to deal with CNN’s talking heads and shrill panelists. As a constant source of propaganda, minimum wage would be more appropriate, but that would almost be an insult to hard working folks currently making that.
The figure looks worse in context, considering fellow CNN host of “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” Kaitlan Collins makes about a fifth of that, according to Puck News.
The Post cited viewership for Tuesday, showing Cooper drawing 647,000 total viewers and Collins at 829,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. time slots respectively.
So “Anderson Cooper 360” draws less of an audience, with a host that’s paid a lot more.
Cooper’s salary is in the crosshairs after Monday’s news of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery’s splitting into two entities, initiated by CEO David Zaslav.
WBD Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels has been tasked with looking for ways to save money under the new banner of Global Networks, which includes CNN.
Every host at CNN is overpaid; per Puck, host of “The Lead with Jake Tapper” Jake Tapper is also making low-eight figures..
Is Anderson Cooper deserving of this salary?
The level of trust the public put in major media networks is not commensurate to their compensation for these hosts.
The decentralization of news comes as more independent journalists, podcasters, YouTubers, and X accounts are offering new ways for people to stay informed.
Americans don’t sit down in front of the TV after a long day’s work and tune in to primetime coverage like they used to.
YouTube and Rumble host a number of influential names in media, like Tim Pool and Steven Crowder. Even for left-wing audiences, organizations like the Young Turks on YouTube pull a massive following. (The Young Turks have over 6 million subscribers.)
Cooper is not worth $18 million for where CNN sits in terms of respectability and watchability.
Under Global Networks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see new talent making nowhere near that amount, but Cooper himself could use a pay cut.
Or be cut altogether.
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