CEO Chris Licht to leave CNN

Chris Licht, the embattled CEO of CNN, plans to step down as the company’s top executive after just one year on the job, bringing an end to his tumultuous tenure as the cable news network’s chief executive.

The news was announced to staffers on the network’s Wednesday morning editorial call, a source told The Hill, after multiple reports surfaced early in the day that Licht was leaving.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, joined the call and said he has “great respect for Chris, personally and professionally.”

Zaslav took personal responsibility for the upheaval at CNN in recent months under Licht, one network source said.  

“The job of leading CNN was never going to be easy, especially at a time of huge disruption and transformation, and he has poured his heart and soul into it,” Zaslav said. “While we know we have work to do as we look to identify a new leader, we have absolute confidence in the team we have in place and will continue to fight for CNN and its world class journalism.”

An interim leadership team will be put in place effective immediately, including Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development, Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of editorial, and Eric Sherling, executive vice president of U.S. programming, as well as David Leavy, chief operating officer.

Licht’s announcement comes days after a scathing 15,000-word profile of him earned him widespread condemnation from CNN staffers and fueled internal speculation about his job security.

In the profile, Licht was quoted criticizing the network’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic before his arrival last May and pushing back on assertions from the employees underneath him that he had lost touch with the outlet’s newsroom.

Licht apologized to staffers Monday for the negative attention the piece had sparked.

“As I read that article, I found myself thinking, CNN is not about me,” Licht said. “I should not be in the news unless it’s taking arrows for you. Your work is what should be written about.”

Licht took over at CNN last May after former president Jeff Zucker was forced out following an internal investigation from Warner Bros. Discovery that found he did not disclose a romantic relationship with a top female deputy. 

Under Zucker, CNN had developed a reputation for its at times combative coverage of former President Trump and sensational coverage of major news events. 

Vowing to change the culture and tone of CNN, Licht told staffers and media observers during his early days on the job his vision for the network was one where more sober news reports would be prioritized over partisan analysis and punditry across much of cable news. 

He fired polarizing figures within the network like media correspondent Brian Stelter and White House reporter John Harwood before conducting mass staff layoffs late last year as part of budgetary belt tightening. 

Licht revamped the network’s flagship morning program and moved star anchor Don Lemon away from prime time to host it. 

But CNN’s ratings have been in free fall for months, and Lemon was eventually fired after he clashed with talent on the morning program, making offensive comments about women that sparked embarrassing headlines for the network.

Leaders at Warner Bros. Discovery have said they view CNN as a reputational asset, despite the company failing to post $1 billion in profit for the first time in years and the slew of negative press the network has received since Licht took over.  

The networks’ top executive most recently took heat from people inside and outside of CNN for the outlet’s handling of last month’s town hall with Trump, which critics said gave the former president a platform to make false claims and was low on substance. 

Licht did not participate in Wednesday’s editorial call, a network source told The Hill, but he was quoted in the Atlantic profile as saying he was sure CNN’s corporate ownership “had his back.” 

“I don’t need people to be loyal to Chris Licht,” the now-ousted chairman told the outlet. “I need people to be loyal to CNN.” 

Updated at 10:39 a.m. EDT.