Chris Licht Out at CNN

Chris Licht is being let go by CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Wednesday. Licht replaced Jeff Zucker at the cable news network (which used to be called the Cable News Network), assuming the titles of chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide in May 2022. The tenure was short-lived.

“I have great respect for Chris, personally and professionally,” David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said on Wednesday morning. “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. 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.”

Zaslav hand-picked Licht to turn the struggling CNN around. One of their first items of business? Shuttering the disastrous CNN+ less than a month into its launch.

Zaslav sent an email to staffers on Wednesday informing them of the decision of Licht’s departure; you can read that below.

Licht will be replaced atop CNN on an interim basis by a team including Amy Entelis, executive VP of talent and content development, Virginia Moseley, executive VP of editorial, and Eric Sherling, executive VP of U.S. programming, per the Warner Bros. Discovery announcement. David Leavy, CNN Worldwide’s chief operating officer, will assume Licht’s duties on the commercial side, the press release added.

The former top producer and showrunner on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” had a tumultuous run at CNN. Among the many issues Licht faced — or even caused, in some cases — were CNN’s lackluster TV ratings, a recent fiasco of a town hall with Donald Trump, and an all-access story at The Atlantic that put Licht in the wrong spotlight at the wrong time.

Among the memorable takeaways of the piece, which felt tone deaf to many readers amid CNN’s struggles, was a scene in which Licht, while weight-training, questioned if Zucker could lift what he lifted. Read the Atlantic story, titled “Inside the Meltdown at CNN,” here. Consider it the nail in Licht’s CNN coffin.

One could excuse Zaslav for going all in on Licht. Not only did he help Colbert become the new king of late night (in terms of total viewers), Licht had plenty of news-programming experience. He had previously been vice president of programming for CBS News and executive producer of the network’s morning news program, “CBS This Morning,” which he helped launch in 2012. And prior to CBS, Licht was the co-creator and original executive producer of MSNBC’s popular morning-news show “Morning Joe.”

As promised, below is Zaslav’s internal memo to employees. The bolding is his.

All,
This morning we are announcing that Chris Licht will be leaving CNN and we will be conducting a wide search, internally and externally, for a new leader. I wanted you to hear this news directly from me as it impacts you and your teams.

I have known Chris for many years and have enormous respect for him, personally and professionally. This job was never going to be easy, especially at a time of great disruption and transformation, and Chris poured his heart and soul into it. He has a deep love for journalism and this business and that has been evident throughout his tenure. Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we had hoped – and ultimately that’s on me. I take responsibility. Needless to say, we appreciate Chris’ efforts and dedication and wish him all the best.

We have put in place a solid transition plan with the appointment of an acting leadership team made up of experienced programming executives… Amy Entelis, EVP, Talent & Content Development, Virginia Moseley, EVP, Editorial, and Eric Sherling, EVP, U.S. Programming, along with David Leavy, COO, on the commercial side. We have great confidence in this group and will fully support them until a new CEO is named. We are in good hands, allowing us to take the time we need to run a thoughtful and thorough search for a new leader. I recognize that changes like this can be stressful and appreciate your continued patience as we move through this process.

You’ve heard me say it many times: CNN has the greatest journalists in the world… we are deeply committed to supporting them and the critical work that CNN does every day. We must get this right – and we will!

David