By Molly Goddard
6:05pm PST, Mar 7, 2025
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While some political pundits are being laid off, others are getting pay bumps.
According to a report by
Status News, CNN's right-wing correspondent
Scott Jennings is currently in talks to receive a substantial salary increase as many journalists are being cut from left-wing news networks amid President
Donald Trump's second term and dwindling ratings.
Keep reading to see how the company is allegedly rewarding the Republican reporter…
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Per the news outlet — which is run by former CNN media reporter
Oliver Darcy — Scott Jennings is in the process of finalizing his pay increase with the left-leaning network. However, the company allegedly said no to his request to launch his own show.
The conservative political strategist has been the go-to Republican for CNN, often defending President Donald Trump and even
Elon Musk. Jennings recently fought against the criticism aimed at the tech billionaire over his special role with DOGE.
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"They're trying to do something that nobody ever does, which is reduce the size of the government in terms of expenditure alone," Scott Jennings said on the Tuesday, March 4, episode of
NewsNight with Abby Phillip, defending the federal cuts.
The media personality also noted how
House Republicans recently passed a spending budget agreed upon with both the right and the left. "I mean, this is the blueprint that they need to pass to move forward with their reconciliation plans, but they're trying to do something pretty serious. And that's shrink the size of a government that rarely gets smaller," he said.
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The supposed reward for Scott Jennings comes as CNN has dealt with record-low ratings in recent months. In January, CEO
Mark Thompson revealed the network would be getting rid of 6% of its staff as they figure out how to restructure.
MSNBC has also dealt with a dip in viewership. In a huge network shake-up in February, the liberal network announced they would be canceling
Joy Reid's nightly news show and axing
Alex Wagner from her 9 p.m. weeknight slot.
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Fellow anchors at MSNBC expressed outrage over Joy Reid's dismissal. During her final broadcast, the Harvard graduate warned her viewers to be cautious of "
fascism" as the media and political landscape changes.
"We begin tonight with what I think is
the question. When you are in the midst of a crisis and specifically a crisis of democracy, how do you resist? When fascism isn't just coming, it's already here?" she asked.
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Rachel Maddow condemned MSNBC for firing Joy Reid: "I think it is a
bad mistake to let her walk out the door. It is not my call and I understand that. But that's what I think," she said.
"I will tell you. It is also unnerving to see that on a
network where we've got two – count them – two nonwhite hosts in primetime, both of our nonwhite hosts in primetime [Reid and Alex Wagner] are losing their shows, as is
Katie Phang on the weekend," she said.
