A media insider has named the huge CNN star whose job could now be on the line, as well as who is most likely to be spared as the network barrels toward another brutal round of cost-cutting. Veteran media reporter Dylan Byers (pictured) sounded the alarm in Puck that Anderson Cooper, the face of CNN for more than two decades and one of its highest-paid anchors could be on the chopping block.

Byers, who has covered the network from its Jeff Zucker glory days through its Mark Thompson malaise, says Cooper’s massive $18 million annual paycheck will make him a prime target as incoming CNN overseer Gunnar Wiedenfels prepares to transform the network into a lean, cheaper, less-ambitious operation. The slimmed down operation will no longer be able to support million-dollar salaries, extensive international bureaus, or flashy special-event coverage. 

But there is one bright spot with Byers predicting that anchor Erin Burnett (pictured), another big name but with a somewhat lower salary of $3 million, is likely safe for now. Byers’ thinking is that CNN will try to keep a few familiar faces on the air while ripping up its business model. ‘There will be a transitional period where CNN will hold on to a few bold-faced names through their contracts,’ Byers explained. ‘My guess is Erin falls into that camp.’

The revelations have sent tremors through CNN’s embattled ranks, where fears of more layoffs, pay cuts, and even an outright sale are now gripping staff from its New York studios to its Atlanta headquarters. ‘CNN will begin to look more like HLN: smaller salaries, smaller budgets, less ambitious programming,’ Byers revealed in an insightful new analysis. Byers suggests the days of eight-figure paychecks and globe-trotting correspondents are drawing to a dramatic close. Cooper’s sudden move to sign with powerhouse agency CAA has only fueled speculation that he is preparing to jump before being pushed, after more than two decades as CNN’s star anchor. Byers hinted that Cooper, tired of sagging ratings, growing internal turmoil, and a shrinking audience, may be eyeing a graceful exit rather than wait for Wiedenfels to wield the axe.

Inside CNN’s embattled halls, the atmosphere is toxic with dread. One staffer described it to Fox News as ‘grim,’ while others confessed they no longer trust leadership after endless layoffs, deepening revenue declines, and an uncertain future. The brutal shake-up comes as Warner Bros. Discovery finalizes plans to spin off CNN into a new division stuffed with other cable properties including HGTV, TBS, TNT, and the Food Network. Sources inside the network have taken to calling it the ‘[expletive] Co.’ fearing their days of luxury expense accounts and lavish perks are gone for good. As Wiedenfels, the no-nonsense former CFO, prepares to take the helm of the spin-off, he has already signaled that no one is guaranteed safety.

CNN’s top stars, costly correspondents, and even entire bureaus are all under review as WBD’s corporate bosses try to wring profitability from a dying cable ecosystem . ‘Anchors raking in millions of dollars per year have targets on their backs,’ one insider told Status. In a staff memo titled ‘Excitement for the Future,’ Wiedenfels promised to preserve CNN’s editorial independence while essentially gutting its cost structure and making it clear that major cuts are non-negotiable. ‘Anchors raking in millions of dollars per year have targets on their backs,’ one insider told Status.

‘He killed it,’ one longtime staffer said about WBD CEO David Zaslav (pictured), who orchestrated the split. ‘The last few years under Zas has been a disaster.’ Analysts remain deeply skeptical, worried that CNN’s streaming efforts, even with a $100 million infusion and some CNN+ veterans returning, are too little, too late. Byers, for his part, sees no miraculous comeback. ‘Sure, CNN remains a powerful global brand,’ he wrote, ‘but t he decline of its core linear business has accelerated rapidly.’

Meanwhile, nervous employees are left clinging to the only certainties they have: ever-tighter expense policies, mandatory receipts for every meal, and the knowledge that their once-mighty brand is under siege. Wiedenfels warned staffers that there was no limit to a possible sale. Any buyer with cash could snap up CNN at any moment, further ratcheting up the chaos. ‘People are hoping CNN will be sold,’ a staffer told Fox News bluntly, echoing a sense of resignation spreading through the network’s offices. Daily Mail has approached CNN for comment.