HELTER-STELTER
Daily Beast eyes ex-CNNer as ax swings
Newly-installed Daily Beast boss Joanna Coles is scrambling to hire boldface names like ousted CNN host Brian Stelter as she sharpens the ax to slash more than a third of the staff, The Post has learned.
Coles — who was brought in by media mogul Barry Diller along with Disney bigwig Ben Sherwood last month to resuscitate the floundering news site — reached out to Stelter, the former anchor of CNN’s nowdefunct “Reliable Sources,” to run the Beast’s media coverage, sources close to the situation told The Post on Tuesday.
Stelter, who has landed a special correspondent role at Vanity Fair since being dumped by CNN, declined to comment.
Coles’ purported attempt to lure Stelter comes as the outlet confirmed Tuesday that it offered voluntary buyouts to its 37 unionized staffers. A source close to The Beast said roughly 30% are expected to grab the lifeline before it expires in mid-June.
“You either take the buyout or risk being laid off, as Coles wants to create a newsroom in her own image,” the source said, noting that layoffs will “likely be even worse” than the 30% figure.
Coles and Sherwood hope to reap $1.5 million in cost savings from the union cuts, on top of the “millions” they are saving by reducing their footprint in their Frank Gehry-designed headquarters in Manhattan’s posh Chelsea neighborhood, another source said.
Management has proposed a buyout package that would give the average Beast employee who has been at the company between two and four years roughly three to four months of pay, the first source noted.
“The voluntary buyouts are part of a larger plan to reduce spending, grow revenue and put The Beast into a healthy and sustainable financial position,” a Beast spokesperson told The Post.
‘Tough choices’
“Everyone in digital media is facing tough choices. These buyouts are especially hard because we know some talented and valued colleagues will decide to leave next month.
Throughout this process, we remain fully committed to The Beast’s core mission — great independent journalism that makes a difference.”
The insider added that the heads of the non-unionized senior editors are also on the chopping block, including Daily Beast Editor-in-Chief Tracy Connor, as The Post previously reported. A second source said that job cuts will also hit the publication’s business side in the coming months.
The rep would not comment on Connor’s future or that of other section heads.
Coles, 61, was named chief creative and content officer after Diller gave her and Sherwood a minority stake in the tabloid-inspired site.
Since grabbing the reins, the British-born editor has intimidated staffers with pointed questions about who they are and how they want to cover their beats, sparking anxiety over the possibility that they’d be replaced by new reporters with better ideas, sources told The Post.
Employees are walking a tightrope in trying to please Coles — who is swanning around the office, the first source said. Meanwhile, Connor and executive editor Katie Baker have been laying low.