Discerning news hounds might think they are exploring “terra incognita” when reading the Townhall headline: “CNN Is Getting Rid of An Entire Section on Its Site,” because, really, what discerning news seekers visit CNN except to see how the network hacks are warping real news and spinning it to push political collectivism? Even when they focus on weather, there’s a chance they’ll push idiotic and unfounded anthropogenic climate change propaganda, so few seekers of news likely are well-acquainted with the site except as a curiosity, a passing fad, a way to check on the workings of the woke.
And now, Leah Barkoukis reports for Townhall that CNN’s financially bruised team has decided to cut one of the few things its editors honestly labeled as their opinion section.
Perhaps inspiring one to respond with, “Isn’t that the whole so-called ‘news’ site?”
She notes:
“Some contributors were notified via email that ‘unfortunately CNN has decided to shut down the opinion section,’ with an editor adding, ‘I hope our paths cross elsewhere!’”
Perhaps they’ll cross in the fiction section of a bookstore.
A cynic might suspect that this move by CNN likely means that they simply are going to continue pushing their so-called “news” without labeling it opinion, and they will continue to promote their “news” content as being a different animal from their former “opinion” section.
“A senior executive at the network confirmed the decision to The Hill.
‘We did make the decision at the beginning of the month to sunset the opinion vertical on CNN.com; as a result, we will no longer have a standalone Opinion section,’ the executive said, pointing to a more detailed report on Substack by Claire Atkinson.
That report indicated staff on the Opinion desk were notified last month that they were being let go on August 9 as ‘part of a wider cost cutting measure,’ CEO Mark Thompson announced.”
At her Substack, Ms. Atkinson has written at least twice about the CNN cuts, noting on July 10:
“CNN chief Mark Thompson unveiled his new strategy today at Hudson Yards and is axing 100 positions as part of the newsroom rethink and a push into AI. CNN will move to a single international multimedia news operation, according to a memo sent to staff this morning.
Select staff were called to morning meetings to find they are being laid off. CNN employs some 3,500 people, the memo said.”
Perhaps you’re wondering how 3,500 people can offer such weak so-called “journalism,” and perhaps you’re wondering why they continue to operate the charade of calling their output “news.”
In her second July 10 post on CNN, Atkinson noted:
“The move is part of a wider cost cutting measure announced this morning by CEO Mark Thompson who unveiled a broad global restructure of CNN’s content output across digital, video and TV. The restructure comes almost a year after Thompson took charge of the network after the disastrous term of his predecessor Chris Licht. Thompson is reviving subscription products launching later this year, after Licht executed a plan to shutter an earlier CNN streaming product conceived under former leader Jeff Zucker.”
And that streaming product line?
Not hard news. As Diya Poddar recently reported for Invezz, CNN’s “brain-trust” seems to recognize that it doesn’t much appeal to people who actually want real journalism about major events:
“Thompson announced that CNN.com will introduce its first subscription product later this year.
This initiative aims to enhance user engagement and increase visit frequency by offering high-quality lifestyle journalism.”
Enjoy.
Related: CNN Cries Racism On Algerian Boxer's Gender Controversy
And that leaves many likely wondering what will be left on the CNN “News” site. It’s easy to suspect that the CNN editors simply will continue filling their “news section” with slanted pieces, cherry-picked subjects that promote leftism, and interviews that are one-sided and unfair.
Writes Barkoukis:
“A sampling of what’s currently featured on the opinion section is a piece about how ‘Project 2025 is coming for our kids, too,’ and another about how ‘It’s time more horror films push back against queer stereotypes,’ and yet another discussing where black people can go to live freely ‘depending on how this election goes.’”
And Barkoukis included a reaction from X-user “IT Guy” that might perfectly sum things up:
“If we’re being honest, the entire network is opinion. But Ok, less of CNN is certainly better.”
Amen.