CNN Gets Lambasted After Announcing Desperate Cash Grab in Bid to Turn Company Around

If you ever needed evidence that the elites running CNN are completely out of touch and live within an echo chamber, their latest announcement should suffice.

The struggling news network revealed on Tuesday that it plans to introduce a new initiative intended to push readers away from its website.

No, seriously.

In an unintentionally comical show of arrogance, CNN's self-reporting began with: “CNN, one of the most popular news websites in the world, is starting to ask some of its visitors to pay $3.99 a month for access.”

Though CNN seems to be stretching the term “most popular,” the rest of the announcement is almost more astonishing, mainly because the arrogance doesn’t stop there.

CNN’s report essentially acknowledged that this is a financial move: “On Tuesday, the news organization is laying the first bricks in a so-called paywall that should, over time, help foot the bill for CNN’s journalism around the world.”

Considering the current state of the economy, the fact that it's a fiscal matter is not surprising.

What remains somewhat surprising, however, is how disconnected CNN and its leadership seem to be from the perceived quality of their content.

Exhibit A: Alex MacCallum, CNN’s executive vice president of digital products and services.

MacCallum issued a memo to staff introducing the new paywall.

“Starting today, we are asking users in the United States to pay a small recurring fee for unlimited access to CNN.com’s world-class articles,” MacCallum announced.

He went on to elaborate on some aspects of the upcoming paywall.

“Only after users consume a certain number of free articles will they be prompted to subscribe,” MacCallum wrote. “In addition to unlimited access to CNN.com’s articles, subscribers will receive benefits like exclusive election features, original documentaries, a curated daily selection of our most distinctive journalism, and fewer digital ads.”

In other words, a network that struggles to get people to tune in when it’s already part of their cable package now expects them to pay to read news that can easily be found on social media or competitor sites.

Once again—seriously.

Unsurprisingly, many are ridiculing CNN for this misguided business decision.

Just consider some of the responses to Brian Stelter’s social media announcement:

One user insightfully suggested, “I know you guys need to make money, but instead of this, you could try returning to honest, unbiased coverage. That would attract more viewers.”

The user added, “This will be the last nail in your coffin.”

Another user reminded CNN of their past failed attempt at a paid service.

“It’s like the CNN+ fiasco never happened,” the post read.

(For those unaware, CNN+ was a short-lived streaming service launched in 2022 that lasted barely a month.)

And about that echo chamber?

CNN’s self-congratulatory statement ended with a rather condescending note: “Still, many readers and viewers don’t connect the dots between personally paying for news and helping to sustain the industry as a whole.”

Oh, readers can connect the dots just fine.

They simply don’t want to pay for a partisan outlet like CNN.