Chris Licht is out at CNN after a disastrous first year of trying to overhaul the network during which ratings slumped, profits shrank and staff revolted against him.
The final straw, it seems, was a scathing profile in The Atlantic, published over the weekend, in which Licht touted his own leadership abilities while disparaging the work of his staff in their reporting of topics like COVID-19 before he came on board.
In an announcement this morning, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced his departure.
‘I have great respect for Chris, personally and professionally. The job of leading CNN was never going to be easy, especially at a time of huge disruption and transformation, and he has poured his heart and soul into it.
‘While we know we have work to do as we look to identify a new leader, we have absolute confidence in the team we have in place and will continue to fight for CNN and its world class journalism,’ he said.
Chris Licht is out at CNN after a disastrous first year of trying to overhaul the network during which ratings slumped, profits shrank and staff revolted against him
Until a permanent replacement is found, the network will be shepherded by Amy Entelis, EVP of Talent, Virginia Moseley, EVP of editorial, and Eric Sherling, EVP of US programming.
Licht had been cooperating with The Atlantic since November, providing the outlet extraordinary access to his network and his vision for it. Seemingly blind to the possibility that his plan would fail, he spoke disparagingly of the network’s staff and how they’d covered topics before he came on board.
Yesterday, he apologized to staff on the notorious morning call and said he would ‘fight’ to win back their trust.
By Tuesday morning, it was all over.
Licht’s departure comes after a hellish first year. He took over from Jeff Zucker in May last year after Zucker’s affair with Allison Gollust was revealed.
His mission was to overhaul the network, cleanse it of its inherent left-wing bias and boost ratings.
Instead, he insulated himself in a corporate office on the 22nd floor, high above the newsroom, and seemed constantly unavailable to staff.
As part of his strategy to bring the network back to the political center, he greenlit an hour-long townhall with Donald Trump that saw the former president railroad host Kaitlan Collins.
The special disgusted long-time employees, who said Trump should never have been given a platform.
The townhall boosted ratings significantly, but only temporarily. In recent days, viewer numbers trailed the more conservative and significantly less established Newsmax.
In an effort to breathe new life into the network, Licht also wielded major upheaval with its roster of talent.
Don Lemon, a network stalwart, was fired after making a series of sexist remarks on Licht’s newly-conceived morning show, CNN This Morning. Out too was Brian Stelter, the long-serving media correspondent.
Amy Entelis, the long-serving VP of talent, will steer the network until a permanent replacement is found
The final straw for Licht was this Atlantic profile published over the weekend in which Licht made disparaging remarks about the network’s coverage before he took over
Before CNN, Licht’s background was in producing cable news shows including MSNBC’s Morning Joe and CBS This Morning.
Among his first tasks at CNN was to axe its ill-fated streaming service CNN+, a service which had brought on 400 new jobs.
Licht oversaw their redundancies, then implemented a second round of cuts months later.
As part of his overhaul of the anchor line-up, he moved Don Lemon – beloved by his audience – out of primetime and into a morning slot with Collins and Poppy Harlow.
Lemon and Collins clashed repeatedly on-air and behind-the-scenes which created an awkward on-air chemistry.
Licht’s strategy included an hour-long town hall with Donald Trump. It boosted ratings but saw the former president railroad Kaitlan Collins and enrage staff who were furious that Trump had been given a platform
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