Media

CNN quietly disbands ‘Race and Equality’ team as part of layoffs

By
Ariel Zilber
Published July 12, 2024, 10:47 a.m. ET

CNN quietly disbanded its “Race and Equality” team of reporters as part of a major restructuring that included firing 100 staffers this week, according to a report.

There were three reporters that made up the unit, which was created by former CNN president Jeff Zucker in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.

One of the journalists was fired while the other two were reassigned to other departments, according to a newsletter written by black journalist Phil Lewis.

CNN Chairman Mark Thompson recently announced a restructuring of the network which resulted in layoffs of around 100 workers.
CNN Chairman Mark Thompson recently announced a restructuring of the network which resulted in layoffs of around 100 workers. Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery

A network spokesperson first claimed the Race and Equality team was not disbanded before admitting to Lewis that it will longer exist as a mission-oriented unit.

“For all intents and purposes, the team is not a team anymore,” the spokesperson said.

“They’re assigned to different areas so that [their] perspective and work is brought into all of our types of programming. It’s not a unit in the way it was before, but [race and equality] is very much still their focus.”

The Post has sought comment from CNN.

CNN disbanded its race and equality team, which was created in the aftermath of the 2020 police-involved death of George Floyd.
CNN disbanded its race and equality team, which was created in the aftermath of the 2020 police-involved death of George Floyd. AP

Mark Thompson, CNN’s new boss, announced Wednesday that the newsroom would be shedding around 100 jobs, nearly 3% of the workforce..

Among the higher-profile journalists who were let go were media critic Brian Lowry and senior tech writer Samantha Murphy Kelly.

As part of the restructuring, CNN will also roll out its first-ever subscription product for its CNN.com site.

Thompson said that the subscription offerings will be “want to use” content produced by the network’s lifestyle journalists.

CNN had created the Race and Equality unit in 2020 amid nationwide rioting and protests over Floyd’s death in Minneapolis while in police custody.

“The recent conversations we’ve had in our newsrooms have been informative and constructive. We have valued them, we heard you, and we will continue listening,” Zucker wrote in the 2020 memo.

“There are structural changes and investments we can and will make to better cover what is happening in our society. We are committed to doing that.”