A brief and turbulent tenure is coming to a close.
Embattled CNN chief Chris Licht is leaving his post following a damning exposรฉ in The Atlantic that revealed widespread dissent within the ranks.
The decision by Licht comes less than a month after the network's town hall with former President Donald Trump.
Licht hoped to appease CNN's right-wing critics through the town hall. However, both sides remained dissatisfied with the outcome. Trump's strongest supporters were upset with host Kaitlan Collins for fact-checking his false claims of election fraud in battleground states. Meanwhile, the network staff and on-air talent were disappointed that the former president received a major platform.
The New York Times reports:
Mr. Licht's 13-month run at CNN was marked by one controversy after another, culminating in his exit earlier this week. He got off to a bumpy start even before he had officially started when he oversaw the shuttering of the pricey CNN+ streaming service at the request of its network's new owners, who were skeptical about a stand-alone digital product. The cuts resulted inย scores of layoffs.
Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Licht's departure represents a dramatic fall not long after he departed as an executive producer of Stephen Colbert's top-rated late night show and vowed to bring a middle-of-the-road balance to CNN's journalism. When Mr. Licht took the job, he told friends it was a โcalling.โ
Puckย earlier reportedย that Mr. Licht was leaving CNN.
Puck News' Dylan Byers reports โWarner Bros. Discovery will announce that Licht will be stepping down as chairman and CEO of CNNโ within the next 48 hours.
Byers first reported that Licht had been tapped to lead the cable news network 16 months ago.
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2 Comments
They all need to be gone.
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