CNN Staffers Want To Leave And Go Work For NBC/MSNBC

The staff inside CNN are perhaps the only group more disgruntled with the brand than its former viewers.

A report from Puck reveals the open secret that CNN employees want to move to NBC News, where they view "greener grass."

Already, anchor Christine Romans and entertainment reporter Chloe Melas plan to move from CNN to NBC in the coming months.

"Romans and Melas will join a small diaspora of CNN talent and executives who have recently left Hudson Yards for 30 Rock, including Laura Jarrett, now NBC’s senior legal correspondent, and Ana Cabrera, now an MSNBC anchor. Off camera, Rebecca Kutler, the former head of programming for CNN+ who was once a treasured part of the Jeff Zucker inner circle, is now MSNBC’s senior vice president of content strategy; longtime CNN producer David Gelles is now the executive producer for NBC’s ‘Meet The Press,’" the report states. 

At this point, NBC is a more stable brand than CNN. The state of CNN is in flux. Last year, new Warner Bros. Discovery ownership tasked Chris Lict to undo the liberal bent that came to define the previous iteration of the brand. But Licht was recently fired, muddying up the direction of the network.

So, is the plan still to return CNN to a place of dignity and journalism, a la CNN 1.0? Or is CNN to again serve as a less animated form of MSNBC, a la CNN 2.0?

Staffers apparently do not know the answer. Nor do viewers.

CNN averaged only 463,000 total day viewers during the second quarter of 2023. That compares unfavorably to 796,000 for MSNBC and 1.2 million for Fox News. In primetime, the channel drew just 573,000.

Licht anointed Kaitlan Collins the face of the network, moving her to the flagship 9 pm hour. Yet reports now say brass has turned on her, making her a "sacrificial lamb."

CNN is without star power, leadership, direction, and a competitive viewership base. Thus, an MSNBC source told Puck they aren't surprised to learn of the hosts looking to change companies:

"It always helps when your competition sets themselves on fire."

NBC also has the advantage of separating its "news" division under NBC News and its opinion division under MSNBC. The separation appeals to hosts who prefer not to be associated with the other, as is the case at CNN.

For example, NBC anchor Lester Holt has the advantage of not having to answer for Joy Reid or Rachel Maddow. Meanwhile, critics often hold Jake Tapper accountable for the commentaries of Jim Acosta and Brianna Keilar.

Opinion hosts at MSNBC understand the edict to run opposition to Donald Trump. CNN hosts have to thread the needle, given management's willingness to host a town hall with the former president and efforts to host Republicans on the network.

NBC has also shown an ability to build stars, something CNN has not done successfully since Chris Cuomo in 2018. Nicolle Wallace (unfortunately) and Kristen Welker are now household names due of the NBC/MSNBC promotional prowess.

CBS and ABC, too, hold advantages over CNN but lack the finances and real estate, respectively, to compete with NBC.

Ultimately, media is in a transition. The best jobs are now online, where talents can own and operate their own businesses.

Joe Rogan is more relevant than any host on television. Alex Cooper, Ben Shapiro, and Steven Crowder make more money than star anchors.

But for those still planning to make a career on TV, NBC is undoubtedly a superior option to CNN.