CNN CEO Chris Licht is leaving after a tumultuous 16-month tenure leading the venerable cable news outlet.
According to a report from Puck’s Dylan Byers, Licht will leave the network immediately. The news was confirmed during a CNN conference call with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. The report from Byers did not declare whether Licht was leaving on his own volition or if he was asked to step down by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
During the conference call, Zaslav told employees, “For a number of reasons it didn’t work out, and that’s on me. I take full responsibility. We have put a transition team in place. The acting leadership team will be Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, and Eric Sherling. They will be joined on the commercial operating side by David Leavy, who is the COO. That’s a group of four. They have full responsibility, effective immediately, for running this great organization that we all love so very much.”
Zaslav continued by discussing future plans for naming a new CEO. He said, “I have great confidence in this group, and will fully support them until a new CEO us named. We are in no rush. The CEO search will take months because I think it’s important that things settle down, and we’ve got to get this right. We will find a great leader from inside or outside, and off we go.”
The 51-year-old Licht was tabbed as the successor to Jeff Zucker, who left CNN after failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a subordinate. Under his leadership, CNN has seen numerous changes to its daily lineup, including the move of Don Lemon from primetime to a revamped morning show. Ultimately, Lemon was fired after several on-camera and behind-the-scenes missteps.
CNN This Morning — the program featuring Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins — has failed to gain traction in regards to ratings. It frequently finished in third place behind competitors FOX & Friends and Morning Joe. It also at times failed to eclipse the previous CNN morning show New Day in audience size. Since its November launch, the show has seen both Lemon and Collins depart. The 31-year-old Collins was tabbed to host the timeslot previously occupied by Chris Cuomo in the network’s primetime lineup.
Licht’s departure comes on the heels of what has been described as a “disastrous” profile by The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta. The feature — which followed Licht for nearly a year — has been viewed as a detriment to his ability to lead the organization. In the story, Licht was critical of the way the journalists he now leads covered the COVID-19 pandemic, and also the presidency of Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy claimed Licht had “lost the room” at the network after the profile’s publication.
Support for Licht inside the organization began to wane when it was announced that the network would host a town hall event with former President and current 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. Many at the network panned the decision to “platform” the former president, saying the event would be a disaster for the network. Public reaction was to the event was generally mixed along party lines, but the ratings for the network haven’t recovered since the event took place.
