'Troubled Times at CNN, Anchors at Odds with Cooper'

This is CNN:

Larry King’s leaving is not the only problem at CNN. The cable news network is plagued by high-profile departures, low ratings and – TheWrap has learned – widespread resentment among producers and anchors.The succession war set off by King leaving is only likely to heighten the tension even further.

Speaking on background, one CNN on-air personality told TheWrap that most of the anchors were jealous that Anderson Cooper sucked up resources by going to Haiti and the Gulf of Mexico, leaving them unable to build their profiles at the network.

Meanwhile, multiple insiders at CNN have told TheWrap that the silver-haired star anchor may also be close to leaving the network, frustrated by his own low ratings and tempted by other offers.

Cooper has been frustrated that despite dangerous forays into disaster zones like Haiti, his ratings remain in the doldrums. [Can’t imagine why — Ed] And a high-level CNN staffer told TheWrap that Cooper is frequently in conflict with his executive producer David Doss.

He is also said to be entertaining offers from other potential suitors. Cooper’s contract with CNN expires next year.

When asked about internal discord, a CNN spokesperson said, “CNN will continue to do great journalism [Heh — Ed] and will leave meaningless conjecture to The Wrap.”

Cooper’s departure could be perilous for CNN. Cooper’s ratings are one of the only bright spots in the network’s schedule and the network has no clear in-house successor.

The responsibiity for that falls with network president Jon Klein. Said one insider: “Jon Klein is very strong on content. But he is fundamentally not good at choosing and promoting talent. He has never found a big-name personality, put them on the air and made them a star.”