Chris Licht has stepped down as CEO of CNN, the parent company of the global news network said Wednesday.
CNN “will conduct an extensive internal and external search for a new leader,” David Zaslav, CEO of CNN parent Warner Bros., told staff. Discovery, in a memo sent Wednesday. In the meantime, a four-person committee of CNN executives will serve as interim leadership, Zaslav said.
Warner Bros. Discovery named Licht as CEO in February 2022, but he didn’t take the helm until May 2022 because he was still finishing his work at CBS as a producer of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” Licht’s predecessor, Jeff Zucker, resigned last year after doing so a consensual relationship with a few employees.
In his first memo to CNN staff, Licht told employees that he is a reporter at heart who also worked as a television producer for MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” but felt “a real drive to get back to news at such a critical moment in history.”
Zaslav praised Licht as he announced his departure, saying Licht “has a deep love for journalism.”
“This work was never going to be easy, especially at a time of great disruption and transformation, and Chris poured his heart and soul into it,” Zaslav said in the memo. “Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way we hoped, and ultimately that’s on me. I take responsibility for that.”
Puck News first reported Licht’s exit. Licht could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Negative advertising
Licht’s departure comes just days after a article published in The Atlantic portrayed him as overconfident, obsessed with his predecessor and quickly losing the trust of CNN staff.
About six months into Licht’s tenure, CNN laid off an unknown number of employees as it struggled with shrinking advertising revenue. The layoffs were part of the larger goal of Warner Bros. Discovery to reduce costs up to 3.5 billion dollars. Warner Bros. Discovery also owns Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, truTV and Turner Classic Movies.
When Licht took over CNN, he was tasked with reshaping the network’s news coverage less partisan than it had been during the presidency of Donald Trump. But falling ratings, the abrupt shutdown of the CNN+ streaming service and widespread internal criticism, including the recent town hall with Trump, scuttled those plans.
CNN’s May ratings were dismal, with its prime-time audience less than half that of rival MSNBC, while Fox News still leads the cable networks.
The town hall has been haunted
A month before Licht arrived, the network shut down CNN+ and fired most of his staff. Executives said its inability to show live breaking news was a crucial failure. Due to contracts with cable and satellite companies, CNN+ was unable to carry the CNN television network.
CNN faced immediate backlash after Trump’s town hall, where the former president repeated 2020 election lies; dodged questions about abortion; he made fun of E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual abuse; and celebrated the January 6 riots.
Under Licht’s watch, so did the network fired anchor Don Lemon. The presenter was attacked at the beginning of the following year made comments about women at their “prime” during a segment about 51-year-old Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. In April, Variety published a report about Lemon’s alleged hostility and misogynistic behavior towards her colleagues.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Christopher J. Brooks
