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UPDATE: Chris Wallace Lists Home For Sale, May Have Been Fired By CNN After All?

A couple days ago, we reported that Chris Wallace was OUT at CNN.

We reported that according to Wallace, he wanted to leave CNN to “pursue podcasting” which we noted seemed extremely odd.

Now it turns out that may not be the truth after all.

Puck News and The Daily Mail are now reporting that Wallace was indeed given the boot:

From Melissa Hallman:

🤣SHOCKER – Looks like Chris Wallace fudged the truth: CNN anchor Chris Wallace was the first network star given the boot as the channel faces a staffing bloodbath the face of cratering ratings.

Puck News reported that Wallace, who was paid $7 million a year, was told his two shows on the network were being axed by CEO Mark Thompson.

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He was told he could stay on in a greatly-reduced role as an analyst on a far smaller salary, but decided not to, according to journalist Dylan Byers.

Wallace, a former Fox News star, ended up quitting and insisted his decision was entirely his own.

He now claims to be pursuing a career in ‘streaming or podcasting,’ but does not appear to have a new job lined up.

The weekly interview series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace and Saturday morning discussion panel The Chris Wallace Show were on the chopping block when he quit.

Wallace maintains he was never discussing his options because he’d already decided to leave. Thompson’s decision had reportedly been relayed to Wallace’s agent.

It always struck me as extremely odd that a 77 year old Wallace would decide to leave a multi-million dollar contract on a whim of “pursuing podcasting.”

But I guess it’s his word against Puck News.

Here’s more from The Daily Mail:

CNN anchor Chris Wallace was the first network star given the boot as the channel faces a staffing bloodbath in the face of cratering ratings.

Puck News reported that Wallace, who was paid $7 million a year, was told his two shows on the network were being axed by CEO Mark Thompson.

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He was told he could stay on in a greatly-reduced role as an analyst on a far smaller salary, but decided not to, according to journalist Dylan Byers.

Wallace, a former Fox News star, ended up quitting and insisted his decision was entirely his own.

He now claims to be pursuing a career in ‘streaming or podcasting,’ but does not appear to have a new job lined up.

The weekly interview series Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace and Saturday morning discussion panel The Chris Wallace Show were on the chopping block when he quit.

Wallace maintains he was never discussing his options because he’d already decided to leave. Thompson’s decision had reportedly been relayed to Wallace’s agent.

‘It doesn’t matter what was or wasn’t said in that meeting because I had already decided with my wife six months ago to leave CNN,’ Wallace told Puck.

Wallace had earlier insisted he was ‘excited’ to be ‘between jobs.’

‘This is the first time in 55 years I’ve been between jobs. I am actually excited and liberated by that,’ he said.

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‘Not knowing is part of the challenge. I‘m waiting to see what comes over the transom. It might be something that I haven’t thought of at all.’

Wallace worked with Fox News Sunday for 18 years but jumped ship to CNN in 2021 as a star signing for the network’s ill-fated CNN+ streaming service.

CNN+ launched in March 2022 and was canned just a month later, with Wallace staying on at the main news channel afterwards.

Wallace is the first of multiple familiar faces set to be shown the door at CNN in the coming months, with hundreds of staffers set for the chop.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the network suffered its worst rating in a key demographic in a quarter of a century in the week after the presidential election.

An average of 61,000 viewers aged between 25 to 54 tuned in on Tuesday, a week after the vote.

This seems like a good time to relive this classic beat down delivered by President Trump:

Gee, can’t imagine why any network wouldn’t want to pay Wallace millions of dollars for this kind of work!

Whether he got fired or left on his own seems up for debate, but what is clear is he just listed his $6.4 million house for sale:

From the NY Post, here’s more:

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Veteran broadcaster Chris Wallace is saying goodbye to his Washington, DC perch as he lists his stately home in the Kalorama neighborhood for $6.4 million.

The CNN anchor, who announced his departure from the news network on Tuesday, is now also stepping away from the 1929 Georgian Revival mansion he and his wife, Lorraine, have called home since purchasing it for $1.1 million in 1997 — the same year they tied the knot, reports the Wall Street Journal.

(However, by Friday, Puck News reported that Wallace was the first network star to get booted from CNN as the network faces layoffs following low ratings during Election Day. He was reportedly offered a role of an analyst for far less than his $7 million salary and turned it down.)

Spanning roughly 7,000 square feet, the home is steeped in history, boasting four bedrooms, a grand entrance with classic columns, and formal rooms tailor-made for entertaining Washington’s elite.

You can see photos here:  https://nypost.com/2024/11/15/real-estate/chris-wallace-lists-dc-home-for-6-4m/

Here was our original report:

BREAKING: Chris Wallace Out At CNN! Will Pursue Strange New Career….

BREAKING: Chris Wallace Out At CNN! Will Pursue Strange New Career....

In a surprise breaking news alert, Chris Wallace is OUT at CNN.

But according to the official story, he hasn't been fired...

He's leaving on his own accord voluntarily, walking away from 7-figure salary negotiations because....he wants to try podcasting!

Anyone else think something strange is going on?

It reminds me of when an NFL head coach is fired but they claim they quit because they just want to "spend more time with their family".

Yeah, I'm not buying it.

But here's the official report:

From the NY Post:

CNN host Chris Wallace is leaving the cable television network to work on an independent platform in a shocking move that was reported Monday.

The 77-year-old broadcaster revealed his future plans in an interview with the Daily Beast after spending the past three years at CNN.

He said he wants to pivot to streaming or podcasting, claiming that’s “where the action seems to be,” according to the outlet.

We broke Chris Wallace and we broke CNN:

For a walk down memory lane, let's all remember how biased he was during the 2020 debates:

So Wallace thinks he will be more successful at podcasting, huh?

Fancies himself the new Joe Rogan?

How hilarious is that!

Almost no one watched Chris Wallace even when he was on CNN and CNN was playing in every airport out there for some reason, but he thinks people will voluntarily tune in to find him on some streaming platform?

That's hilarious!

MEMO TO CHRIS: the issue is not with the platform, the issue is with you.  No one likes you.  No one trusts you.  No one cares what you have to say.  No one likes how you inject your bias into the Presidential Debates.  We don't want to watch you in a house, we don't want to watch you with a mouse.  We don't want you here or there, we don't want you....ANYWHERE!

Wallace should ask his buddy Don Lemon how "podcasting" is going for him....

I don't think Don has turned into the next Joe Rogan yet, but I'm sure he will very soon! 🤣

The Daily Beast had more details around the STRANGE story:

Chris Wallace is quitting CNN after three years as one of its biggest stars, he exclusively told the Daily Beast Monday.

The 77-year-old broadcaster said he will instead find a new home on an independent platform such as streaming or podcasting, which he described as “where the action seems to be.” He highlighted how podcasters including Joe Rogan and Charlamagne tha God had set the agenda during the presidential election, but added, “I don’t flatter myself to think I will have that sort of reach.”

The stunning decision by Wallace to walk away from CNN at the end of his three-year, seven-figure contract, rather than to renegotiate it, is a watershed moment for cable TV. It comes as other anchors face being fired or having salaries cut as declining ratings and cord-cutting hit the industry’s bottom line.

Chris Wallace seemed bearish on Kamala Harris’ chances given exit polls that suggested widespread dissatisfaction in the Biden Administration. “In conventional terms, it would be a miracle that Kamala Harris could win with that kind of headwind.”

Wallace spent 12 hours on air on election night last week, making him one of the key faces of CNN's coverage.
Wallace was one of the main faces of CNN’s election night coverage last week, correctly forecasting that Kamala Harris would need a “miracle” to win as the first exit polls showed the depths of her electoral difficulty. He came to CNN in 2021 after 18 years at Fox News, where he had interviewed Donald Trump repeatedly and earned praise for his handling of the fiery 2020 presidential debate between Trump and Joe Biden.

But he told the Daily Beast that his career in broadcast television–which began on local TV in Chicago in 1973 and spanned NBC’s The Today Show and Meet The Press, ABC’s PrimeTime Live and Fox News Sunday before he joined CNN–will be over when his contract lapses at the end of the year, describing it as “quite liberating.”

“This is the first time in 55 years I‘ve been between jobs,” he said. “I am actually excited and liberated by that.”

Dana Bash and Jim Jordan on "State of the Union."
Wallace is considering what streaming or podcast format would work for him, and added, “Not knowing is part of the challenge. I‘m waiting to see what comes over the transom. It might be something that I haven’t thought of at all.”

CNN wanted to retain Wallace but his decision to quit ahead of contract talks will be seen as a sign of CNN’s waning influence in the media landscape. Its ratings have been consistently down, with its election night coverage falling far behind Fox News. In relative terms, it has slid further and faster than its competitors, Fox and MSNBC, leading to pressure to cut costs.

Wallace emphasized that his decision was not a criticism of his employers. “I have nothing but positive things to say. CNN has been very good to me,” he said. He joined to be one of the key faces of the CNN+ streaming network, only for it to be closed by the new CNN CEO, Chris Licht, a month after going live in March 2022. Wallace anchors The Chris Wallace Show on Saturday mornings and Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, which streams on Max.

Wallace joined CNN after 18 years at Fox News. That had included moderating the Trump-Biden debate in 2020 in which the then-president sparred with Wallace as well as his presidential rival.

CNN CEO and Chairman Mark Thompson said in a statement: “Chris Wallace is one of the most respected political journalists in the news business with a unique track record across radio, print, broadcast television, cable television and streaming. We want to thank him for the dedication and wisdom he’s brought to all his work at CNN and to wish him the very best for the future.”

What do you think?

Do you take this story at face value?


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