Chris Licht will be stepping down as CEO of CNN barely a year into his leadership that was marred with problems trying to gain the trust of the country following an era of diminished credibility.
Puck first reported on Licht's departure: "In the next 48 hours, I’m told, Warner Bros. Discovery will 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."
Confirming @DylanByers report. Licht plans to step down as CEO. Story coming in @axios
— Sara Fischer (@sarafischer) June 7, 2023
Interim leadership at CNN will be:
— Dominick Mastrangelo (@DomMastrangelo1) June 7, 2023
-- Amy Entelis, EVP of talent and content development
-- Virginia Moseley, EVP of editorial
-- Eric Sherling, EVP of US programming
-- David Leavy, chief operating officer
The news of Licht no longer being in charge of CNN comes after an in-depth profile from The Atlantic provided embarrassing details of Licht trying to revive the news outlet and employees expressing their lack of confidence in the new leader. CNN has consistently been in third place in ratings against Fox News and MSNBC, dropping below one million average viewers during primetime.
In follow-up stories from other outlets, CNN staffers continue to express their anger and disappointment in Licht criticizing how CNN operated prior to taking over. Many also took issue with Licht's decision to have a town hall with former President Donald Trump, which was seen as victory for the leading presidential candidate.
As I previously wrote about this drama:
The fact [CNN has] not done any self-reflection and chalk up any criticism to MAGA Republican nonsense is exactly why their ratings are low and their trust outside of the media bubble is almost non-existent. Is Licht the guy to fix it? At this point, probably not, but given the company's response to a guy saying, 'Hey, maybe we should get back to journalism,' being the equivalent to a toddler's temper tantrum is another example that CNN may never get the nation's trust back, and they do not deserve it.
One of Licht's first acts as CEO was to shut down CNN+, the streaming service that was pitched as a way to increase viewership and revenue. CNN+ barely lasted a month due to low subscription rates and high cost of overhead.