CNN releases Frank, Potter
Journo claims cabler letting go of middle-aged vets
The contract of "Moneyline" senior correspondent and eight-year CNN and CNNfn vet Allan Dodds Frank was not renewed. Mark Potter, one of three reporters in the cabler's Miami bureau, also was let go.
"They're getting rid of all the middle-aged veterans," said the 55-year-old Frank, who won a Gerald Loeb award in 2001 for his reporting on the financing of Al-Qaeda's 9/11 attacks.
"You'll notice this when people are replaced by younger, less experienced reporters who are much cheaper."
CNN did not respond for comment Tuesday.
Several insiders said the layoffs were specific to programs and departments and that they had not heard of companywide layoffs.
Other insiders, however, said several other correspondents have been told recently that they would not be renewed.
Frank insisted the dismissals were part of a wider CNN effort to scale back.
"CNN is worried about the cost of the war in Iraq, and, just in case (of a proposed merger with ABC News), they will have stockpiled as many open slots as possible," he said.
Both Frank and Potter are ABC News vets. Potter, who has worked for various Miami stations for 26 years, joined CNN in 1998.
In 2001, the network laid off about 400 employees when AOL and Time Warner, CNN's parent, merged.
