EXCLUSIVECNN stars at war with each other over how far the failing news network has fallen
Fired Don Lemon is like a bad penny who keeps showing up when no-one wants him to.
Fired Don Lemon is like a bad penny who keeps showing up when no-one wants him to.
Anderson Cooper puts his camera crew in harms way as he looks for personal TV glory.
And Mark Preston is so angry at his former colleagues for criticizing the network, he slammed them as jerks and cranks.
Infighting at beleaguered CNN has reached a fever pitch as staff – both past and present – are now playing the blame game over how far the network has fallen.
DailyMail.com has reviewed weeks of chatter from CNN alumni who’ve been using a Facebook message board to decry the sorry state of their once mighty employer at a disastrous time for the network, with dismal ratings and plans for new sweeping layoffs.
And the messages show huge anger as the networks struggles have gotten even worse in the weeks since Donald Trump won the election.
Former producer Carper Dulmage, who now works for KABC in Los Angeles, offered his own brutal take. CNN is no longer significant, he wrote.
One former assignment editor even said she felt good when she saw Cooper, 57, hit in the face by debris while covering Hurricane Milton in October.
Mark Preston, an on-air senior political analyst who has been with CNN for nearly two decades, unloaded on former colleagues for bashing the networks coverage in the Trump era
A private Facebook page revealed the infighting among former CNN colleagues. Even CNNs biggest personalities such as Anderson Cooper and Dana Bash were fair game in these chats
Former assignment editor Stacy Roberts reacting with glee when Anderson Cooper got hit by debris while covering Hurricane Milton in early October
I feel he purposely does live shots during hurricanes where he knows that is going to be the worst place to be to make it look better on camera, Stacy Roberts wrote on the private Facebook page.
To me, he seems to care more about looking good to the audience at home than the safety of his crew with him.
And I never liked that.
Former cameraman Ron Helm complained that the station got its election coverage so wrong because it spent too much time...talking to DC people and not enough time talking to people in Ottomwa, Iowa, or middle and smaller America.
Veteran humorist Bill Tush took a swing at anchor Dana Bash for having fired host Don Lemon on her show.
Guys like a bad penny, he wrote.
And Helm criticized the whole approach CNN now uses with talking heads rather than live news footage.
Show why Ukraine is important, he wrote.
Veteran humorist Bill Tush said Don Lemon is like a bad penny
Former CNN photographer Ron Helm argued in one posting that the network had lost its way, focusing too much on partisan hackery and too little on the country that just elected Trump to a second term
He alluded to the current state of political journalists, where polarization has led to death threats, physical violence, inability to openly discuss your employment with friends
Preston criticized his colleagues ranting on the CNN private alumni page on Facebook, stating budding journalists have a hard road to face
I remember tons of footage from Bosnia yet such a very small amount I see on the air of Ukraine.
CNN has cameras, show us the world dont just argue about it.
There is not enough profit in being credible, he added. Just a partisan bullhorn and to (sic) many already have that landscape claimed.
CNN used to be the eyes of the world, and if they got rid of every anchor with their name in the title could probably hire 20 or 30 full field crews (camera, reporter, producer) to be that again globally.
But the criticism hit current senior political analyst Mark Preston hard and he bit back on November 16.
Im old – I am of the age that bridged the old to the new at CNN, the 53-year-old wrote during his November 16 outburst.
I began my career as a newspaper reporter/without the internet, writing stories on green screens … it wasnt easy.
But he added, all of you brave "journalists" who like to opine about the old days … have no idea what the next generation of journalists face each day.
He then alluded to the current blood sport of politics, where he claimed polarization has led to death threats, physical violence, inability to openly discuss your employment with friends.
Instead of being a know it all – longing for the days of Ted Turner, he wrote, referring to the founder of the Cable News Network, why dont you learn a lesson from him instead and BE SUPPORTIVE of our colleagues in the next generation.
He then went after the 20 cranks who often complain on this message board, adding, It is one thing to long and remember the old days … it is delusional to think everybody should stay the same.
Nobody likes a jerk, he continued.
Want to be remembered (if remembered at all) as a know it all jerk… Or as a colleague, friend, who actually cared.
It all comes at a bad time for CNN which has seen its share of the market plummet – its primetime viewers have plummeted by 47 percent since the election and stand at only 398,000, less than one-sixth of Fox Newss numbers.
Critics on both sides of the political spectrum claim the channel favors the other, and unlike Fox and its other main rival ,left-leaning MSNBC, it has not managed to cling to viewers who want their biases affirmed.
CNN is no longer significant, wrote former producer Carper Dulmage, while fired anchor Don Lemon was criticized for turning up on shows when no-one wants him
News of Prestons outburst comes at a bad time for CNN which has seen its share of the market plummet. He is seen interviewing Donald Trump Jr. at the Republican National Convention
One ex-staffer, Omo Unc, argued that CNN executives no longer support journalism, and accused the network, like other mainstream media, of the normalization of Trumps racism and violent rhetoric
Brad Simons, a former general manager, was almost indigent with the state the network had found itself in – finding himself reminiscing back to forty years ago.
Some posters praised Prestons comments, while others stood their ground, spouting off from all perspectives as they criticized the sorry state of CNN. Much of the debate revolved around CNNs all-over-the-place coverage of Trump.
One ex-staffer, Omo Unc, argued that CNN executives no longer support journalism, and accused the network, like other mainstream media, of the normalization of Trumps racism and violent rhetoric.
Bob Wenk, a former CNN stage manager, shot back, What normalization? CNN called out his racism constantly to its own detriment. Its part of the reason people tuned out. They were sick of hearing us call him out.
Craig Fingar, former senior IT director, argued that CNNs constant bothsidesing is the biggest problem, and that its coverage should be more aggressive on Trump, calling him a national security threat.
CNN leg humped the sh*t out of Bidens mental decline, Fingar wrote. Did they do that with Trumps obvious decline? No they did not. And so on and so on.
Brad Simons, a former general manager, was apoplectic as he declared, What happened to the CNN I worked for in the 80s and 90s. I dont even recognize the network anymore. It is not the network I worked so hard for to bring the American public real news.
Katie Walmsley Bikel, who worked for CNN Business, agreed, arguing, This is a time like no other where the President stands on misrepresentation and lies. When journalism is the enemy and outlets are being sued for billions for doing their job.
"Old CNN" would not exist in this climate either, she continued. And everyone is an armchair quarterback until you work in politics or news and then you realize youre up against a disinformation machine that essentially owns entire social networks who want to see you vanish because you call them out. The rulebook is gone.
Pamela Stevens, a former CNN senior editorial producer, called her old network like many in the mainstream media out of touch, lumping them with rich Hollywood entertainers. She specifically called out limousine liberal Bruce Springsteen, who campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election, saying she cant even listen anymore to his hit Glory Days.
Pamela Stevens, a former CNN senior editorial producer, called her old network like many in the mainstream media out of touch, lumping them with rich Hollywood entertainers
Stevens specifically called out Bruce Springsteen, who campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in the presidential election, saying she cant even listen anymore to his hit Glory Day
I am proud of my 12 years at CNN, Stevens commented. We covered Tammy Wynette, shark week, a little girl falling in a well, we put lawmakers on together and treated them graciously.
We ALL want the very best for CNN, she said.
Listening to what ppl say on this FB page would serve you well vs disregarding it, she added in an apparent broadside to Preston. Media should talk to America. All of America. Listen to middle America! Listen. Thats what Ted (Turner) wanted.
Another former colleague, Chris Turner, resented Prestons comment that journalists are experiencing more dangers than ever, pointing out that old timers went through hell reporting on military conflicts while also battling network unions.
We may be old and cranky but we paid our dues and CNNs, Turner wrote.
Some CNN alumni like 40-year veteran Rick Davis, former executive vice president of news standards and practices, tried to play diplomat, praising old and new while appealing for civility.
But the harmony broke down quickly.
You trying to be a troll? former senior audio designer Clayton Green snapped at Pamela Stevens for her prior rant.
Thats just mean and uncalled for, Stevens shot back. Enough. Have a good night.
Sonia Tucker, former chief of protocol affairs, chimed in with how she thinks her old network should handle Trump 2.0.
It would be great for all journalists/networks to keep pressing for facts and make news more less opinionated with talking heads, she appealed. Back to basics. Report both sides #facts matter.
CNN is planning to unleash sweeping layoffs early next year, according to an explosive new report from Puck.
It comes after the departure of stalwart Chris Wallace, and amid reports senior stars like Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper have both been denied raises.
There is no mention of who may be on the chopping block.
The highest-paid stars include Anderson Cooper who rakes in $20million a year, Erin Burnett at $6million and rising star Kaitlan Collins for $3million.
CNN 40-year veteran Rick Davis, former executive vice president of news standards and practices, tried to play diplomat, praising old and new while appealing for civility
Despite Davis efforts, the conversations quickly devolved into arguments such as senior audio engineer Clayton Greens spat with Stevens where he accused her of trolling
In the next few months, Im told, CNN will implement another round of layoffs that will impact hundreds of employees across the organization, reporter Dylan Byers wrote earlier this month, referencing CNNs 100-person layoff over the summer.
The fresh round of firings, insiders said, will be more geared toward the production side of things.
As a result, reporters and correspondents will be required to cover their slack, they said – describing how on-air workers will be asked to assume more of the responsibilities once handled by teams of producers and production assistants.
Byers wrote: Redundant assignments will be nixed, and various divisions will be reduced or even eliminated.
Some of the on-air talent are also likely to be affected, he went on to reveal.
Sources who spoke to the reporter, who worked at CNN for three years before founding Puck, added how the looming layoffs are part of an overarching plan – one that puts a premium on the stations digital platforms.
Contacted by DailyMail.com, Mark Preston did not respond to a request for comment. CNN declined to comment.
