Chris Licht is departing from CNN just days after a damning 15,000-word article about him was published in The Atlantic. Soon after the publication was released, Chris Licht apologized to staff saying he didn’t “recognize” himself.
Afterward, he began calling CNN anchors, whom he had never spoken to before, attempting to regain a foothold in the newsroom, according to sources. One source went on record saying that Chris Licht needed “to win the room but the piece shortened his window of time doing that.” That source was referring to the damaging profile done by Tim Alberta, a reporter for The Atlantic.
Speculation
Earlier this week, people had been speculating as to when the hammer would drop on Chris Licht. Some believed it would happen around the Fourth of July holiday, while others thought the embattled CEO and chairman had a few months to recover.
Ultimately, they were all wrong in their speculations. The higher-ups in the company were highly displeased by what they read and held a meeting about it. David Zaslav, the CEO of CNN’s parent network Warner Bros. Discovery, stated that he had met with Chris Licht “and he will be leaving CNN.”
Chris Licht’s Bad Decision
Zaslav went on to say that Chris Licht’s job was “never going to be easy.” The ratings had been failing and other issues were already in play before he took the position roughly 15 months ago.
However, having a reporter following him around for a year was not one of his best decisions. Chris Licht allowed Alberta to have a very backstage pass into the inner core of who he was. Alberta reported that he had been not only on the newsroom floor to see and hear things firsthand, but was able to meet with Licht privately at the gym.
New CEO
Zaslav is currently looking within the company and outside it for the next CEO of CNN. For now, CNN’s leadership team will be comprised of Amy Entelis, EVP, of Talent & Content Development, Virginia Moseley, EVP, of Editorial, and Eric Sherling, EVP, of U.S. Programming, along with David Leavy, COO, on the commercial side. Leavy was just hired into the company about a week ago.
In a memo to his staff, Zaslav informed them of Chris Licht’s departure, who would be running the outfit for now, and how he understood the situation could be stressful. He also stated that he appreciated their “continued patience as we move through this process.”
Breaking News: Chris Licht, who oversaw a brief and chaotic tenure as the chairman of CNN, is out at the network.https://t.co/85kpXAZ25g
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 7, 2023
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
CNBC: CNN CEO Chris Licht out after Trump town hall fallout, brutal Atlantic article
CNN: CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht is out
New York Post: CNN boss Chris Licht phones ‘anchors he’s never spoken to before’ in bid to keep job: source
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Josh Hallett‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Tinou Bao‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
