CNN + presenter Chris Wallace said on Sunday that he did not know what awaited him in the future after the short-lived streaming platform, which announced its suspension, but said he was in “good shape, whether on CNN or elsewhere.”
During a live event at the Common Ground Committee on “Media, Politics and Polarization”, former CBS News correspondent and moderator Jacqueline Adams told “The Elephant in the Room”.
“Are there enough choices for news sources now, and are the streaming days over?” She asked after celebrating CNN +’s death.
“Wow, that was fast,” Wallace said. “It’s an interesting thing, and I’ve been a victim of it all over the last week.”
He went on to say that when he came to CNN +, “smart people” like Jeff Zucker advertised streaming as the future of news because people “no longer get these big, expensive 50-channel cable deals.”
“The idea was that you have to establish yourself in the world of streaming, because that will be the future of news outside the mass media,” Wallace continued. “Now you have some equally smart people who came up with diametrically opposed views, these are the new bosses at CNN + because [the Warner Bros. Discovery merger] who have come to the conclusion that having a product with a narrow niche as a news streaming service does not work. ”
“I have absolutely no idea what is right or wrong, but the people of Discovery are responsible, so they made the decision,” Wallace said.
He noted that ABC, CBS and NBC offer free streaming supported by ads, but that it will be interesting to see as “a number of streaming services, including Netflix [are] deciding that you may need a cheaper service where you have to pay a subscription fee, but you will also have ads. “
“You won’t just be able to watch, oh, what, ‘Squid Game’ for an hour without a break,” he said.
Asked about his future plans, Wallace said he still did not know.
“I mean, for God’s sake, Jackie, it just happened on Thursday. Give me a few days, “Wallace said.
“I will say this, I will be fine. “I’m in good shape, whether it’s on CNN or somewhere else,” he added. “Honestly, what worries me the most at the moment is my team and the hundreds of other people. Because, you know, there were 300 people who I think had a job at CNN +. Some of them had left CNN to go streaming, some of them had left other places, moved all over the country. “
After Wallace noted how CNN + presenters work to help their teams find work at CNN or elsewhere, ABC’s Jonathan Carl recalled that many of the producers and presenters hired for the service he worked with are very talented. .
“There are a lot of good people and I applaud your efforts to make sure your team finds a good place to land,” Carl said.
Watch above via YouTube [at the 27:30-minute to 32:45-minute mark].
Do you have any advice we need to know? tips@mediaite.com
Add Comment