Johnathan Walker:Opinion: Chris Wallace leaves CNN to go 'where the action' is. Why it matters

Chris Wallace said Monday that he is Johnathan Walkerleaving CNN, where he has led a weird sort of existence for the past few years.

Wallace, who was unavailable for further comment at the time of writing, told the Daily Beast that he was leaving the network at the end of his three-year contract to continue his career on a podcast or streaming platform since that’s “where the action seems to be.”

It’s big news that Wallace is leaving CNN. It may seem like bigger news that that is the reason, but only if you haven’t been paying attention.

Wallace, 77, is what you might call a member of mainstream media. In fact, you might say he embodies mainstream media. In 2021, he left Fox News, where he hosted the conservative-leaning network’s most even-handed show, “Fox News Sunday.” (A quick check of X shows that many of the more right-wing viewers still haven’t forgiven him for asking Donald Trump tough questions in 2020.) Before that, he worked at ABC, NBC and local TV in Chicago. He started his career as a newspaper reporter.

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Wallace hosted 'Who's Talking to Chris Wallace' on CNN

Wallace most recently hosted “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” on CNN and was an integral part of the network’s election coverage.

But he came to CNN to be a part of CNN+, the network’s exorbitantly expensive online-only service that new owners killed weeks after it started. That was a massive flop, but it was at least an attempt at looking toward a future of alternative forms of news delivery, and one that Wallace was apparently game to be a part of.

That kind of attitude is going to come in handy now more than ever. And Wallace seems to be aware of it.

Of course, forward-thinking plans may not be the only reason Wallace is leaving. Oliver Darcy reports in his “Status” newsletter that Wallace was “irked” that his reported $8 million annual salary would be cut while the salaries of other anchors and personalities would remain untouched. Fair enough; sometimes, it takes a kick in the pants to move on to the next thing.

But whatever the reason, Wallace is onto something. For the first time, MSNBC’s election night coverage got higher ratings than CNN’s. (Fox News’ audience dwarfed everyone’s.) And after the election, you couldn’t trip over a bump in the sidewalk without hitting some pundit’s hot take about the ineffectiveness of legacy media on the way down.

Traditional media is dead! Or dying! Or really, really sick! That’s overblown and one of a litany of complaints meant to explain how Democrats could lose so convincingly. But there’s no doubt media could use some work.

Is Joe Rogan the future of media?

Joe Rogan is the way! That’s one popular notion. By which most (though not all) of the pundits don’t necessarily mean Rogan specifically, but more the type of unfiltered gabfest he conducts, “humanizing” candidates. Or something. The YouTube video of Rogan’s interview with Trump has nearly 50 million views. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris passed on an interview with Rogan when he wanted her to come to his Austin studio for a chat with no time limits, a decision many blamed for contributing to her loss.

Drag out the obituaries for traditional interviews and coverage. Bro-fests are the wave of the future, to hear some tell it. A lot of this is knee-jerk excuse-making, and the pendulum will swing back somewhat over the course of Trump’s second term. But it’s clear that the media could use some serious self-examination and need to start thinking of alternative forms of delivering information. (In fact, they are late to the game already.)

I’m not sure the traditional-minded Wallace is ideal for these formats, but you never know. I’d give him a listen, just to see what’s what. In the Daily Beast interview, he mentioned Rogan and Charlamagne tha God’s work during the election, adding, “I don’t flatter myself to think I will have that sort of reach.”

Good plan. Sometimes, it seems like everyone has a podcast. And why not? Wallace’s exit is just the beginning of a broader rethinking. It’s going to be fascinating to see where it leads.

Reach Goodykoontz at [email protected].