According to recent reports, CNN’s Chris Wallace will be leaving the left-leaning news network to break into the booming world of podcasting. The veteran journalist announced earlier this week that he would not renew his contract with CNN, which is set to expire at the end of the year, as he seeks to begin a new venture in decentralized, independent media.
Wallace told The Daily Beast, “I have nothing but positive things to say. CNN has been very good to me.” He further described the feeling of leaving the network as “quite liberating.” Wallace added, “This is the first time in 55 years I’ve been between jobs.” He noted, “I am actually excited and liberated by that.”
Wallace acknowledged the outsized role from podcasters, such as Joe Rogan and Charlamagne tha God, in driving discourse surrounding the election compared to legacy media outlets. Wallace claimed that podcasting is where the “action seems to be.” Addressing the uncertainty surrounding his departure from CNN, he said, “Not knowing is part of the challenge. I‘m waiting to see what comes over the transom. It might be something that I haven’t thought of at all.”
Releasing a statement on Wallace leaving the network, CNN CEO and Chairman Mark Thompson said, “Chris Wallace is one of the most respected political journalists in the news business with a unique track record across radio, print, broadcast television, cable television and streaming. We want to thank him for the dedication and wisdom he’s brought to all his work at CNN and to wish him the very best for the future.”
The American Tribune reported on troubling signs for the mainstream media after the election, perhaps a contributing factor in Wallace’s major career decision. Following President-elect Donald Trump’s major victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, there is has been a precipitous decline in ratings for many figures in the legacy media. Some have concluded that the American people are shunning these outlets, having deemed them untrustworthy.
Conservative commentator Sean Spicer said on a recent forum, “This is out just a little while ago, the ratings for MSNBC, Morning Joe down 39.6, Andrea Mitchell down 39.7, Ari Melber down 49.6, Joy Reid down 54.6, all in the last week. Lawrence O’Donnell down 60.6, Stephanie Ruhle, the big winner, down 67 percent in ratings.” Spicer determined, “They lost the trust of the American people.”
Outright addressing Wallace’s departure from CNN, Spicer continued, “I mean, Chris Wallace, this morning announced that he’s leaving CNN to go to a platform. The thing is, you know, my view, I get, I’ve been asked, probably by about 10 to 12 reporters in the last 48 to 72 hours, how did we miss this again?” Spicer pointed out, “And I said we didn’t. You did. And I mean, and I say this respectfully, but I was just like, look, here are the guests that we’ve had on.”
Spicer noted that alternative forms of media are simultaneously growing in popularity. “Every time someone says journalism is dying, I go over to Substack. Look at these different shows. I mean, there’s a proliferation of media. It’s in a different form, but it is growing and flourishing, just not in a traditional way,” he said.
Watch CNN left stunned by magnitude of Trump victory:
Featured image credit: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chris_Wallace_interviews_Vladimir_Putin.jpg
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