Report Details Staffers At CNN Upset About Anchor
CNN is in the midst of a growing internal crisis, and tensions are flaring over more than just falling ratings. Staffers are now grumbling behind closed doors about one of the network's rising stars, Kaitlan Collins, and her alleged purchase of a high-end vacation home in Nantucket — a move insiders claim is poorly timed and tone-deaf as the network faces looming budget cuts and layoffs.
Collins, 33, host of The Source and a former chief White House correspondent, reportedly acquired a “very expensive” property in the elite Massachusetts enclave, where the average home price now sits around $4.5 million. Though the exact price and details remain unconfirmed, the purchase has sparked discontent among colleagues.
“She just bought some bougie place and CNN people are grossed out that she paid so much,” one anonymous insider told Page Six, adding that Collins is “way overpaid.”
The reaction comes as CNN faces unprecedented pressure from its corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, which recently announced it will split into two publicly traded entities by mid-2026 — Streaming & Studios and Global Networks. CNN will fall under the latter, helmed by current CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, whose reputation as a "bean counter" has insiders bracing for sweeping cuts.
Media analysts say Wiedenfels is expected to scrutinize the network's talent costs, which ballooned under former CNN boss Jeff Zucker. Zucker was known for overpaying talent, a practice that reportedly inflated salaries well beyond market value. With Kaitlan Collins pulling similar ratings at one-fifth the cost of Anderson Cooper — who earns an estimated $18 million annually — questions about top-tier compensation are intensifying.
“Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?” wrote former CNN reporter Dylan Byers in a recent Puck column.
The luxury home purchase has only sharpened the spotlight on Collins, who reportedly earns around $3 million annually. Her decision to invest in a property surrounded by wealthy names like Tommy Hilfiger and Dave Portnoy is being viewed by many inside CNN as emblematic of the disconnect between the network's upper ranks and the rest of its staff.
Compounding the tension is the network’s deepening ratings crisis. CNN posted its second-worst month ever in May among the key 25–54 demographic. Experts expect viewership, subscriptions, and revenue to decline further in the coming year. According to Variety, CNN is projected to lose nearly $500 million in revenue.
Insiders warn that sweeping cost reductions could be imminent. One source familiar with the network’s internal climate told Fox News that Wiedenfels could slash costs at CNN by 50 to 60 percent without affecting current revenue or ratings. That could include 70 percent reductions to U.S. show team staffing levels and significant cuts to anchor salaries.
More troubling for employees: with no union protections in place, the “rank and file” are expected to bear the brunt of restructuring. "Massive layoffs" are likely, and those who remain may be expected to absorb the workload of those let go.
