Time Warner’s CNN is putting a price tag on its digital dreams: $20 million.
The Turner news network plans to invest $20 million into online video, mobile products and global reach, and plans to hire more than 200 new workers including journalists, video staff, and coders, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Its plans include a 30-person team that will leverage data for audience development.
But the network also plans to cut 50 jobs because of the changing focus. Those include people working on its desktop website, as well as generalist reporters and editors, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
In an interview, Andrew Morse, executive vice president of editorial of CNN U.S. and general manager of CNN Digital Worldwide, warned that digital news operations that attempt to replicate a wire service are obsolete.
His team is working on a mobile feed called Money Stream that would deliver tailored content about specific companies that consumers choose to follow. A group of new hires will focus on customizing content for online distributors like Facebook, Google’s YouTube and Snapchat.