CNN quietly disbanded its “Race and Equality” staff of reporters as a part of a significant restructuring that included firing 100 staffers this week, in accordance with a report.
There have been three reporters that made up the unit, which was created by former CNN president Jeff Zucker within the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.
One of many journalists was fired whereas the opposite two had been reassigned to different departments, according to a newsletter written by black journalist Phil Lewis.
A community spokesperson first claimed the Race and Equality staff was not disbanded earlier than admitting to Lewis that it’ll longer exist as a mission-oriented unit.
“For all intents and functions, the staff isn’t a staff anymore,” the spokesperson stated.
“They’re assigned to totally different areas in order that [their] perspective and work is introduced into all of our varieties of programming. It’s not a unit in the way in which it was earlier than, however [race and equality] may be very a lot nonetheless their focus.”
The Submit has sought remark from CNN.
Mark Thompson, CNN’s new boss, introduced Wednesday that the newsroom could be shedding round 100 jobs, almost 3% of the workforce..
Among the many higher-profile journalists who had been let go had been media critic Brian Lowry and senior tech author Samantha Murphy Kelly.
As a part of the restructuring, CNN may even roll out its first-ever subscription product for its CNN.com web site.
Thompson stated that the subscription choices can be “need to use” content material produced by the community’s life-style journalists.
CNN had created the Race and Equality unit in 2020 amid nationwide rioting and protests over Floyd’s loss of life in Minneapolis whereas in police custody.
“The current conversations we’ve had in our newsrooms have been informative and constructive. Now we have valued them, we heard you, and we are going to proceed listening,” Zucker wrote within the 2020 memo.
“There are structural modifications and investments we will and can make to raised cowl what is going on in our society. We’re dedicated to doing that.”
