Some CNN staffers skeptical of network's 'experiment' giving Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper a podcast makeover
Loyal CNN viewers and critics alike were taken by surprise last week at the "experimenting" some of its on-air talent dabbled in.
Anderson Cooper began anchoring his primetime show Wednesday from the newsroom instead of his studio, positioning himself at a table normally used as CNN data guru Harry Enten's work station, Fox News Digital learned.
Cooper appeared without a jacket and with rolled-up sleeves while speaking into a large desk microphone. And during a panel discussion, he and his guests discussed the Strait of Hormuz with a physical map on the table, a departure from the interactive map Cooper had used earlier in the week.
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On Friday, Jake Tapper anchored the first hour of "The Lead" from his office, similarly accompanied with a large microphone on his desk.
"So, you're probably wondering what's going on, why we're in my office for the first hour of 'The Lead' today. So, it's an experiment," a tieless Tapper told viewers. "This is my actual desk where I do my actual work, not the desk in the studio. And we thought we would bring you into the space where we and my team do our actual journalism and plan the show every day."
Tapper showcased his office decor filled with memorabilia from losing presidential campaigns while guests of his sat on the couch adjacent to his desk.
While Tapper's experiment lasted only the first hour of Friday's show, Cooper's is ongoing — carrying over into this week.
For some, the image of the large microphones invoked the members of the late CNN icon Larry King or revered broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. But for others, the aesthetic changes were made to have the CNN anchors look more like podcast hosts.
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However, their colleagues say the so-called experiment "didn't work."
"Look, I’m all for experimentation. The network has been static for far too long. I applaud the experimentation," one CNN insider told Fox News Digital. "The question is whether this is the experiment you want to be running? But the good news is that if doesn’t work, you can try something else."
Regarding CNN's effort to podcastify their shows, they say talents like Cooper and Tapper don't fit the mold.
"You need looser personalities, not just looser sets," the network staffer said.
A second CNN staffer says the changes that were made on Cooper and Tapper's shows were an attempt by CNN at "being something we aren’t."
"Podcasts are a place people go, not because of the look, but because of the product," they said. "Joe Rogan, as the obvious example, is all opinion. He’s smart and all those great things, but ultimately he’s not trying to be a journalist."
"There’s room for that on primetime, on cable, including CNN," they continued. "But Jake, what he is, is not what podcasts are. Anderson? He has a very successful podcast. But Anderson — the news anchor — that’s a different thing. There is room for many things. TV isn’t podcast, even though podcast has video."
Not everyone soured on Cooper and Tapper's on-air experiment. A third CNN staffer told Fox News Digital they "liked" what the anchors have done. Former CNN editor-at-large Chris Cillizza applauded his ex-employer for trying out different formats.
"Would you rather them keep doing the same old, same old that isn't working?" Cillizza asked on X.
However, defenders were outnumbered by critics who mocked Cooper and Tapper. Liberal journalist Taylor Lorenz reacted, "This is so funny what the hell are they doing," while The Bulwark's Tim Miller joked, "Looking forward to @JohnBerman from the bathroom stall."
CNN did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
CNN's podcast-tinged tweaks come with the network on the brink of new ownership, as Paramount's $111 billion offer to take over Warner Bros. Discovery moves forward. And as a result, Paramount owner David Ellison would oversee two struggling news organizations: CNN and CBS News.
There has been speculation whether Ellison would appoint Bari Weiss, his hand-picked editor-in-chief of CBS News, to also take over CNN. While broadcast news was something Weiss had no prior experience in, she certainly knows a thing or two about podcasts.
Weiss entered the podcast world in 2021 as host of "Honestly," and her digital publication The Free Press, which Ellison acquired for $150 million, produces several other podcasts. But CNN staffers are dreading the prospect of Weiss becoming their new boss.
Likely adding to the anxiety of CNN's newsroom is the support Ellison has received from the Trump administration. Earlier this month, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth scolded the network for what he called an "unserious" report suggesting the administration underestimated the effect its war with Iran would have on the Strait of Hormuz, saying, "The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better."
Ellison vowed CNN will maintain editorial independence if the Paramount takeover happens.