Chris Licht is out as the CEO of CNN after over a year on the job. He had taken over for ousted longtime CEO Jeff Zucker. Ironically enough, Zucker acolyte and CNN executive Amy Entelis will take over for Licht. Upon his arrival at CNN, after he left the showrunner position at Stephen Colbert’s late-night show, his marching orders were to turn the network around. CNN had become a parody of its former self. They leaned into the Trump hate train during the 2016 campaign cycle and they never really let up.
This resulted in CNN losing 75% of its viewership in just one year, from 2021 to 2022. Licht had the tall task of making the network once again a respected, dominant force as it had once been. As he tried to accomplish this goal by shifting the network in a center-right direction, by all accounts… he simply failed. CNN staff from the anchors to the daily workers to the executives were not pleased. Some of them even spoke out to the media.
The last couple of straws was The Atlantic writing an unfavorable profile about Licht and the network that Licht participated in for a year. Then, there was the Trump CNN Town Hall. Anderson Cooper appeared on air and said that he understands if people never watch the network again over that. All of the internal strife that played out in front of the public spelled doom for the embattled executive Chris Licht.
SOURCES:
Ousted CNN CEO Speaks Out For First Time | The Daily Caller
CNN CEO Chris Licht out after Trump town hall, Atlantic article
The Real Reason Chris Licht Got Fired From CNN – POLITICO
CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht is out after a brief and tumultuous tenure | CNN Business
CNN’s New Leaders Try to Move On From Chris Licht’s Stormy Tenure – The New York Times
At CNN, Chris Licht Was Surrounded by Enemies
CNN preaches patience as ratings tank during turnaround | AP News
