CNN anchor Jake Tapper is said to be fuming over a new company policy that sharply restricts how on-air talent can promote their own books.
Tapper, who hosts “The Lead” and co-anchors “State of the Union” at the Warner Bros. Discovery–owned network, is “very, very unhappy” with a directive from CNN chief Mark Thompson that prohibits anchors from promoting books beyond publication day, a network journalist told Breaker Media.
The veteran political anchor, who has authored eight books, most recently co-writing a bestseller about President Joe Biden’s decline and his disastrous decision to seek reelection, used his CNN platform extensively to promote the title — a rollout that some colleagues internally described as turning the network into a “rolling infomercial,” according to Breaker.
On Feb. 4, CNN updated its standards guide in what Breaker reported was a direct response to Tapper’s on-air promotion.
The revised policy states: “We should not mix news and advertising, even when what is being advertised is work by a leading CNN journalist.”
Under the new guidelines, anchors may acknowledge publication of a book on its release date if integrated into a journalistic segment — but they “should not promote it following publication day on their own program.”
The policy also bars the use of websites, QR codes or links to drive personal sales and requires CNN authors to meet with members of the executive leadership team to approve any rollout plan tied to CNN platforms.
In addition, all book-related promotion must be reviewed and approved by CNN PR, and no third parties beyond a publisher may be contracted without approval from the head of CNN PR, according to the policy reviewed by Breaker.
Tapper has since gathered several fellow anchors and is seeking a meeting with Thompson to discuss the new restrictions, the report said.
Tensions had already been simmering inside the newsroom.
Breaker previously reported that staffers questioned the decision to air anonymously sourced claims from Tapper’s book, arguing that limited internal fact-checking of outside works put CNN in an awkward position.
Under former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, books authored by network talent were subjected to what one insider described as a “grueling” standards and fact-checking process led by the network’s news standards team.
A CNN spokesperson declined to comment. The Post has sought comment from Tapper.
