Chris Licht has resigned as the chairman and CEO of CNN, ending a turbulent tenure that attracted national media attention – including a long profile in the Atlantic – and raised concerns about the future for the cable news brand.
Licht rose to prominence in the media as a television production. He took over CNN’s reins in February 2022, after Jeff Zucker abruptly resigned, stepping down due to failing not disclose an agreement with a co-worker.
David Zaslav is the president and CEO of Warner Bros. He said, “I have a great deal of respect for Chris personally and professionally.” Discovery is the parent company of CNN.
“The job of heading CNN was never going be easy. Especially at a time when there is so much disruption and change, he has put his heart and soul in it.” We know that we still have work to be done as we search for a new leader. However, we are confident in the team in place. We will continue to fight to keep CNN’s world-class journalism.
Licht quickly sought to distinguish himself from Zucker who had publicly fought with the former President Donald Trump. Licht was reportedly acting on a directive from Warner Bros. David Zaslav, Discovery’s head of news, tried to bring the brand closer to the center of the political spectrum and make it more appealing to conservative viewers as well as GOP newsmakers.
Don Lemon was also co-anchor of the new morning show. Lemon had been terminated in April, after Variety published a report detailing allegations he mistreated female employees. Lemon, who also faced backlash after on-air remarks suggesting GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley wasn’t “in her prime” due to her age of 50, denied the accusations.
In recent months, Licht was the subject of intense scrutiny as CNN’s primetime ratings dropped and its new morning show floundered. He was in the spotlight, a position that few journalists would like to be in.
The pundits harshly criticised him for hosting a town hall with Trump live on May 10. Commentators criticized Licht for giving the Republican frontrunner a stage to make unfounded claims about voter fraud in 2020 and other issues before an enthusiastic crowd. The New York Times headline reads: “Trump’s falsehoods and bluster overtake CNN Town Hall.”
Christiane Amanpour , a veteran CNN anchor , publicly rebuked during a commencement speech at Columbia University a week after the townhall aired. She noted that she had a “very robust exchange of ideas” with Licht. Licht is reported to have stood behind his decision. He reportedly said in part: “America has been served very well by our actions last night.”
The negative assessment reached a fever pitch after The Atlantic published an 15,000 word article entitled “Inside The Meltdown At CNN.” Tim Alberta was a reporter that had been shadowing Licht for several months, including during a training session. He described the executive’s obsession with his own press coverage as well as quoting him mocking CNN’s coverage of the pandemic.
Every move he took, whether it was a big decision about programming or a small tactical maneuver, backfired. Alberta wrote that by most measures, the network had hit its historical nadir under Licht’s leadership.
In the days following, the Atlantic article was widely circulated on social media, and prominent media observers, including Brian Stelter (a former CNN reporter who lost his job last year), publicly speculated about Licht’s future.
CNBC reported that Licht apologized for the article to his staff on a conference call held the Monday following its publication. He told staff that he didn’t recognize the person in Alberta’s article.
He joined CNN after serving as executive producer and host of CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He is best known for launching MSNBC’s Morning Joe and overseeing a successful revamp of CBS This Morning. These career experiences have boosted his reputation as an eminent television producer.
His career began at KNBC in Los Angeles around the same time as the O.J. The O.J. KNBC is one 12 local media stations owned by NBCUniversal (parent company of NBC News).
