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CNN was in turmoil in the early months of 2022, with CEO Jeff Zucker
posting his shocking resignation after nearly a decade of leading the
company, admitting to not disclosing his relationship with senior CNN
executive Allison Gollust.
CNN?s ratings had tanked following the 2020 election, with scandals
involving Chris Cuomo advising his accused-brother Andrew Cuomo despite
his journalistic credentials and an increasingly alienated viewership
becoming exhausted with what they perceived as partisan hosts and
panels.
It was in this vein that Discovery CEO David Zaslav, the parent company
of CNN, recognized the need for a course correction in leadership, and
chose ?Late Show? executive producer Chris Licht to be the next head of
the deteriorating company.
Initially, both CNN anchors and even conservatives alike rallied behind
Licht?s message of reeling in the sensationalism and partisanship that
CNN had become associated with under the leadership of Jeff Zucker.
However, little more than a year into his takeover, Zaslav had become
impatient, announcing to CNN staff the CEO?s departure on Wednesday
morning, ?For a number of reasons things didn?t work out, and that?s
unfortunate,? Mr. Zaslav said, according to a recording of his remarks,
per The New York Times. ?It?s really unfortunate, and ultimately that?s
on me. And I take full responsibility for that.?
?This job was never going to be easy, especially at a time of great
disruption and transformation,? he continued. ?Chris poured his heart
and soul into this job. Like all of you, he was in the line of fire and
he?s taken a lot of hits. We appreciate his efforts, his passion, his
love for journalism, and his love for this business.?
Here is a timeline of the events that ultimately led to the fall of one
of the more promising leadership changes in media:
CNN+ Failure
CNN+ was a streaming service first announced by then-CNN CEO Jeff
Zucker in July 2021 as a foray into the world of subscription-based
streaming services, as the network, like many others, saw a decline in
demand for cable TV. The venture was backed by CNN?s parent company of
Time Warner, but with a deal to merge with Discovery, this backing
would be complicated further down the line.
In all, the company hired hundreds of people to work on the service,
recruited media figures such as Chris Wallace to be featured
exclusively on the platform, and planned to have 8-12 hours of live
programming every day, at a total cost of $300 million.
After a massive media blitz promoting CNN+ on every platform, the end
result was fewer than 10,000 live viewers at any given time just two
weeks after the service had gone live, fewer than many middle-of-the-
pack live streamers on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, who did
not require $300 million to break 10,000 viewers.
Discovery was skeptical of CNN+ from the beginning and left Chris Licht
to pick up the pieces before he was even officially CEO in April of
2022. After the leak of the dismal viewer count, the service was shut
down, and despite his lack of early involvement with the venture, it
was Licht who had to break the news to hundreds of CNN+ hosts and
employees that they had upended their lives to move over to CNN+ for
nothing, already souring his image in the company.
Trump Town Hall Debacle
CNN hosted a town hall with former President Donald Trump for the first
time since 2016, bringing in the best ratings that CNN had had in years
along with scathing criticism from many Left-wing pundits and outlets,
including inside the company.
The town hall was hosted by Kaitlan Collins along with 300 mostly
Trump-enthusiasts in the audience cheering him on as Trump hit all the
beats that alienate many CNN employees and executives alike; from
recounting the 2020 election fraud claims to lambasting the ?fake news
media,? it seemed to many on the Left that CNN simply lost control of
the town hall.
?CNN should be ashamed of themselves. They have lost total control of
this ?town hall? to again be manipulated into platforming election
disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual
abuse victim,? Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted, referring
to writer E. Jean Carroll, who is suing Trump in civil court over an
alleged sexual assault.
This repulsion to what had occurred at the town hall seemed to have
been echoed by many at CNN, who thought Licht did not take the
necessary precautions to prevent Trump from going on a supposedly
unfiltered rant and spreading ?misinformation? to the 3.3 million
people who watched the town hall.
Many at CNN saw Licht as putting Collins in an impossible situation,
tasked with corralling answers out of a bombastic Trump surrounded by
hundreds of loyal supporters who cheered his every retort, further
reducing confidence in Licht?s leadership.
Firing Of Key Hosts
Several months after his takeover, CNN?s ratings and coinciding profits
were continuing to decline (with a $300 million hit from CNN+), and
Licht was forced to bring out the hatchet; laying off about 440 of
CNN?s 4,400 employees. However, cost-cutting was not the only reason
for many of Licht?s restructuring or firings, with longtime host Brian
Stelter, perceived by many on the Right as heavily biased towards
Democrats, being fired last August as a part of Licht?s push to cleanse
the network of partisan hosts.
Stelter had been at the network for years, hosting the show ?Reliable
Sources,? which had the goal of highlighting lies and misinformation in
the news media and presenting the audience with ?reliable? information
that showed what was truly relevant to the country. This firing came as
a shock to many at CNN, with Licht forced to respond following a panic
at his company:
?I want to acknowledge that this is a time of significant change, and I
know that many of you are unsettled,? Licht reportedly told staffers on
an editorial staff call in late August. ?There will be more changes,
and you might not understand it or like it.?
More changes did indeed come, with primetime hyper-partisan host Don
Lemon being ousted in April following his comments that 2024 GOP
Presidential Primary candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley
was ?past her prime.? This unsavory comment combined with his backlog
of alleged workplace mistreatment of women since 2008 led to Lemon?s
firing.
Despite this immense turnover, many at Discover and inside CNN were
becoming impatient with Licht, and he seemed to have made nobody happy
with his myriad of changes.
The Atlantic Profile
Most major news outlets seem to agree that The Atlantic profile on
Licht published last Friday was likely the last straw for Discovery
executives. Licht inexplicably gave The Atlantic near-unlimited access
to his daily life in and outside CNN, showing seeming overconfidence
that he could simply gloss over the aforementioned turmoil at the
company.
The Atlantic?s 15,000-word article shows that Licht has clearly lost
the confidence of many CNN employees and Discovery executives
interviewed in the piece, becoming isolated from the company?s average
employee, as well as ?projecting this persona of a bulletproof badass
because that?s what Zaslav wants to see. ? Licht?s circle was small and
getting smaller ? Whereas he was guarded with CNN employees, our many
hours of conversations began to feel like therapy sessions for Licht,
safe spaces in which he vented grievances.?
The profile also features some strange and embarrassing moments from
Licht. Author Tim Alberta asks Licht why he was skipping a meal, and
Licht responds, ?I?m a f***ing machine.? Alberta observed the CEO?s
workout routine, Licht ?squatted down to grab a long metal pole lying
flat on the ground. ?Zucker couldn?t do this s***,? Licht said through
clenched teeth, hoisting the pole with a grunt.?
These factors combined to lead David Zaslav to pull the plug on Licht?s
short-lived tenure at CNN, leaving the company?s future up in the air
as it struggles to get past its myriad of financial and interpersonal
challenges that put it in this position, to begin with.
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Let`s go Brandon!
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