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The defamation lawsuit involving CNN and concerns that it could result in a large payout to the plaintiff are major concerns of the network’s management, while rank-and-file staff already deal with low ratings and pending cuts, insiders say.
CNN is already dealing with audiences that are hitting rock bottom and reported upcoming layoffs as he prepares to cover Trump’s second incoming presidency.
Now, he is also in a public defamation trial over a 2021 segment in which plaintiff Zach Young alleges defamed him by implying that he illegally profited from helping people flee Afghanistan on the “black market” during the The Biden administration military withdrawal from the country.
“It’s a big concern for senior management,” a CNN source said. Fox News Digital. “All of the damning things, text messages, etc., have already been published. So I don’t think there is concern in terms of exposure. But I think there is definitely concern about the outcome. It seems very likely that CNN will have a huge payout to the end of this.”
CNN anchor Jake Tapper and correspondent Alex Marquardt during the 2021 segment at the center of a defamation lawsuit against the network. (CNN/Screenshot)
Young maintains that CNN “destroyed his reputation and his business” by calling him an illegal profiteer exploiting “desperate Afghans” during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment that first aired on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
The discovery process has led to some embarrassing revelations, such as internal communications between CNN employees showing that editors were concerned about the initial segment but aired it anyway. Other communications revealed that CNN employees used profanity and derogatory language when speaking privately about Young. Young also showed a message warning CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt.who reported the segment, that he would seek legal damages if he continued with the story.
However, since this is all referring to a 2021 segment, the CNN source added that it is not a common topic of conversation among the network’s rank and file.
Another CNN insider called the lawsuit a “big risk” but said the network’s lawyers felt good about the outcome. But they added that with potential looming layoffs and ongoing ratings issues, there are plenty of other things to worry about.
CNN LOSES FOOD NETWORK AS VIEW LANGUAGES IN PRIME TIME ON THE NETWORK
U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business” by calling him an “illegal profiteer” who exploited “desperate Afghans” during a Nov. 11, 2021 segment that aired He first aired on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
“I don’t know if that’s successful. But for some reason it hasn’t permeated the organization at all,” they said. “And that’s probably because the organization is daily in toxic shock and crisis over its situation, so there are bigger moral issues to resolve.”
“Ratings, cuts, strategy confusion, all of the above,” they said. “Which is not unique to CNN, but it is serious at CNN.”
CNN CEO Mark Thompson, who took over in 2023 after the ouster of CEO Chris Licht, did not deny to staff at a town hall this week that layoffs were coming. according to reports.
album news reported in November that “hundreds” of CNN employees are expected to be affected by layoffs in the coming months as Thompson aims to implement digital-first. Thompson, who is credited with reviving the New York Times’ business model, has already been experimenting with CNN’s, launching a subscription plan for its news site last year.
CNN, along with the progressive media MSNBC, saw a ratings drop after the victory of President-elect Donald Trump. CNN hit another new low in December, ending the year with its smallest total day audience in the network’s history, with a paltry 91,000 in the 25-54 age group and 481,000 total viewers.
CNN chief Mark Thompson took over the network in 2023. (Sanjit Das/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
CNN’s first insider praised Thompson’s leadership, but said people were still concerned about industry-wide headwinds that have led to layoffs in other big media companies over the past year, such as the Washington Post, HuffPost TIME and the Los Angeles Times.
“I think people still feel like it’s a very uncertain time in the business in general, so I think there’s still a sense of ‘what’s going to happen to CNN,’ and that people don’t really know about that,” they said. saying.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to a CNN spokesperson for comment.
Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Brian Flood of Fox News contributed to this report.
