Breaking: CNN's CEO Reportedly Out After a Tumultuous Week
Embattled CNN CEO Chris Licht is out after a little more than a year on the job that failed to bring the network back to relevance.
The ouster was first reported by Puck News but was quickly confirmed in a Twitter post by CNN’s senior media reporter Oliver Darcy.
Darcy reported that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav gave CNN staffers the word:
Bulletin: Chris Licht is out at CNN.
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 7, 2023
“I met with Chris and he will be leaving CNN,” David Zaslav tells CNN employees at the start of the morning editorial call.
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 7, 2023
Licht was tapped to oversee CNN’s operations in April 2022 after his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, resigned in disgrace over a romantic relationship with one of his subordinates.
Licht’s hiring was portrayed as a chance for the network to reset itself with independents and conservatives who had abandoned it over its far-left tilt.
Licht was quick to shake up CNN’s lineup and made a number of personnel moves during his first few months on the job.
None of them were able to bring viewers back to the struggling network – not even the demotion and then the firing of liberal lightning rod Don Lemon.
A “CNN This Morning” show reboot failed to resonate with viewers, while over the course of Licht’s tenure, primetime ratings suffered mounting losses.
Last month’s network town hall in New Hampshire with former President Donald Trump was likely a death knell to Licht after it was universally panned.
Then, Licht found himself a target for criticism from top CNN personalities and staffers.
Last week, The Atlantic published a lengthy and less-than-glowing profile of Licht after 14 months on the job and in the aftermath of the town hall, kicking off days of tumultuous headlines about Licht and the network, including Licht apologizing to staffers on Monday.
Dylan Byers with Puck News reported Wednesday morning:
“…[A]fter a year of leadership missteps, programming misfires, a disastrous Trump town hall and the near-total decimation of staff morale in the wake of a chilling all-access Atlantic story, Licht will be vacating the C.E.O. position.
“I’m told that Warner Bros. Discovery will soon announce that Licht will be stepping down as chairman and C.E.O. of CNN, ostensibly bringing an end to one of the most turbulent periods in the network’s 43-year history.”
🚨 SCOOP @PuckNews: CNN C.E.O. Chris Licht will soon step down. Amy Entelis will serve as interim leader. Announcement could come as early as today.
Full story: https://t.co/j2BuuAmxeQ
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) June 7, 2023
Longtime CNN executive Amy Entelis will reportedly helm the wayward network on an interim basis.
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