Anderson Cooper and Jake Tapper's Multi-Million Dollar Salaries at Risk of Being Slashed as New Boss Reduces Budget
New CNN boss Mark Thompson is looking to cut costs and is considering the salaries of on-air talent, according to a report.
Feb. 15 2024, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
Top CNN earners including primetime star Anderson Cooper and famed journalist Jake Tapper may have to say goodbye to their cushy salaries in the future as boss Mark Thompson prepares to slash big costs in an effort to rebrand the ailing cable network.
Thompson is determined to bring his plans of a "revolution" to fruition and is prepared to cut anchor salaries that are currently totaling more than $50 million, according to a sensational report which noted Cooper is top of the list with $20 million a year in earnings.
Thompson is determined to bring his plans of a "revolution" to fruition and is prepared to cut anchor salaries that are currently totaling more than $50 million.
Wolf Blitzer trails right behind Cooper with a yearly salary of $15 million while Tapper pulls in more than $8.5 million, sources claimed.
Chris Wallace is just under at $8 million, two insiders told the TheWrap, noting co-anchors John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner, make between $1 million to $2 million.
We should note that contracts for Cooper and Tapper are not due to expire until after the presidential election in 2025 or 2026, according to people familiar with the situation. RadarOnline.com has reached out to network reps for comment.
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Cooper attended the hush money trial on Thursday, May 16.
Thompson took over for Chris Licht in August and has since begun internal shakeups including axing the morning program that was part of his predecessor's plan to boost ratings.
The new boss decided to cut anchors Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly from CNN This Morning, which had been championed by Licht.
Licht originally cast Poppy, Don Lemon, and Kaitlan Collins as anchors of the show — but Lemon was terminated months after he was moved from primetime to the morning show.
Thompson took over for Chris Licht in August and has since begun internal shakeups including axing the program that was part of his predecessor's plan to boost ratings.
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Lemon was reportedly making $7 million per year at CNN. The network was paying Chris Cuomo $6 million per year before firing him in 2021.
"We need to recapture some of the swagger and innovation of the early CNN," Thompson wrote in a prior memo about his hopes for the network.
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