BizJournals Portfolio
Nov 16 2009 9:11am EDT

CNN Pays Lou Dobbs More to Quit Than MSNBC Pays Olbermann, Matthews to Work

How much did CNN want Lou Dobbs gone from its air? Enough to shell out $8 million to get rid of him, according to the New York Post's Michael Shain, who reported that the controversial CNN anchor will be paid that eye-popping figure in severance. Dobbs announced his departure from CNN on November 11: He's being replaced at 7 p.m. by John King.

To put CNN's payout in perspective, Dobbs is getting more money to leave his show than MSNBC's Keith Olbermann gets to host Countdown five nights a week. Last year, the New York Times' Brian Stelter reported Olbermann's salary as $7.5 million-a-year. Chris Matthews, Olbermann's network sibling, reportedly earns "about $5 million," (per the Times' Bill Carter) for Hardball.

Over on Fox News, Glenn Beck makes $2 million-a-year for his nightly show, according to Business Insider's Dan Colarusso and Rachel King. (Don't worry about Beck: TV is just one small part of his $18 million income.)

This weekend, Dobbs told the Associated Press that his departure from CNN was "a very amicable parting on the best of terms." With a higher severance payout than some of cable news' best-known anchors' salaries, it's hard to doubt he means it.


Matt Haber is the media blogger for Portfolio.com.
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