CNN staff finally revolt over conservative commentator Scott Jennings

CNN staffers are unhappy with the behavior of the company's conservative pundit and contributor Scott Jennings, letting their displeasure at his conduct and violation of guidelines be known during a recent meeting.

According to a Friday report from Status, CNN held a staff-wide all-hands meeting to address employee concerns about the current state of the company and its uncertain future. The cable news staple is at a pivotal crossroads and faces two very different futures based on which company acquires its parent, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Under Paramount, it is expected that CNN will receive an extensive MAGA-friendly makeover, similar to CBS News. But if Netflix acquires WBD, CNN would be spun off into a different company alongside the company's other linear cable channels.

Beyond that uncertain future, however, some employees took the opportunity to confront CEO Mark Thompson about Jennings, a frequently booked conservative pundit known for his open support of President Donald Trump and his tendency to get into spats with other guests.

One employee asked why Jennings was permitted to use "illegal aliens" to refer to undocumented immigrants, a phrase prohibited by CNN's editorial guidelines. Earlier this month, Jennings got into a heated exchange with fellow guest, 2018 Parkland school shooting survivor Cameron Kasky, who chastised him on air for saying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents ought to be able to "chase down illegals" in Minnesota.

“Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t say? I’ve never met you, brother. I can say whatever I want,” Jennings said. “They’re illegal aliens. And that’s what the law calls them. Illegal aliens. That’s what I’m going to call them.”

In response to these concerns, Thompson said that contributors like Thompson are held to different standards than CNN's journalists. He also argued that the heated arguments Jennings tends to get into “public service” that captures “the actual debate and the anger and passion that’s part of the story.” Many of the concerned employees disagreed, according to Status.

As the Daily Beast noted in its report about the meeting, Democratic political operative Julie Roginsky recently raised concern over what she perceived as Jennings' tendency to act "rude, dismissive and antagonistic in ways that feel personal rather than substantive," especially when interacting with women.

“CNN should ask itself a simple question: what is Scott Jennings adding that could not be accomplished by any number of conservative analysts who are capable of making arguments without bad-faith theatrics?” Roginsky wrote. “The answer, uncomfortably, appears to be conflict for conflict’s sake. Jennings reliably generates clips and provokes reactions. And in an era when cable news executives are chasing engagement metrics, that reliability seems to matter more than integrity.”

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