CNN shuts down opinion section

CNN is permanently shutting down its entire opinion section amid a series of ongoing changes at the cable news network.

Certain writers were formally notified of the change over email Wednesday afternoon, according to a source directly familiar with the move.

“Just a quick note to let you know that unfortunately CNN has decided to shut down the opinion section,” an opinion editor sent in an email. “I hope our paths cross elsewhere!”

The opinion editor did not elaborate further in their correspondence. 

Reached for comment, a senior executive at CNN told The Hill: “We did make the decision at the beginning of the month to sunset the opinion vertical on CNN.com; as a result, we will no longer have a standalone Opinion section.”

The senior executive pointed to a post on a Substack called The Media Mix by Claire Atkinson, which detailed a closure of the section coming in August. 

The opinion section served as a platform for diverse voices and has recently featured a variety of pieces about the 2024 presidential election, as well as buzzy topics like the Olympics and Generation Z social media influencer trends.

Its current homepage features a column titled “Project 2025 is coming for our kids, too” by Veronica Goodman, a director at a progressive think tank, about Republicans’ policy priorities ahead of a possible second Donald Trump presidency.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson has previously previewed ways to curb spending within the network as it looks to regain its standing in the television and digital landscape after a tumultuous year of mass layoffs and lower ratings following Jeff Zucker’s exit.