Global Courant
Chris Licht is out of CNN after leading the news network’s parent company for just over a year Discovery of Warner Bros announced Wednesday morning.
Shares of the company rose 7%.
While Warner Bros. Discovery seeks a replacement for Licht, executives Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling and David Leavy will lead CNN, the company said.
“We have great confidence in this group and will fully support them until a new CEO is appointed,” said David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, in a memo to staff on Wednesday. next leader. “We are in good hands, allowing us to take the time we need to conduct a thoughtful and thorough search for a new leader.”
Licht’s departure came as he faced an uprising among CNN’s talent and staff. His tenure, which in fact began when he shut down the network’s expensive CNN+ streaming service, was full of programming mistakes and lows.
“I have known Chris for many years and have the utmost respect for him, both 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,” Zaslav said in his memo. “Unfortunately things didn’t turn out the way we hoped – and ultimately that’s my fault. I take responsibility.”
Chris Licht, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide.
Courtesy: CNN
Light has received heated criticism in recent weeks after the network hosted a Donald Trump town hall that was packed with dozens of cheering fans of the former president. While the event attracted 3.3 million viewers, CNN’s ratings plummeted afterward. Two days after town hall, CNN’s primetime viewership came in downstairs right-wing outlet Newsmax, a much smaller network.
But it was an unflattering 15,000-word profile of Light in The Atlantic Ocean — titled “Inside the Meltdown at CNN” — that might have sealed his fate. He apologized to staff Monday morning, but the top executives of CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, including CEO David Zaslav, were not happy with the article and the aftermath.
The move comes shortly after Leavy, a key Zaslav ally, was named the network’s new chief operating officer. Leavy was tasked with taking over marketing, public relations, ad sales, facilities and other logistics.
The move was intended to allow Licht to focus more on programming. Light helped launch MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” as an executive producer in 2007 and later became an executive producer and showrunner of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on CBS.
Read Zaslav’s memo to staff:
All,
This morning we are announcing that Chris Licht will be leaving CNN and that we will be conducting a broad internal and external search for a new leader. I wanted you to hear this news directly from me as it affects you and your teams.
I have known Chris for many years and have tremendous respect for him both personally and professionally. This job was never going to be easy, especially in 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 company and it has been evident during his tenure. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out the way we hoped – and that’s ultimately up to me. I take responsibility. Needless to say, we appreciate Chris’ efforts and dedication and wish him all the best.
We have established a solid transition plan with the appointment of an acting leadership team consisting of experienced programming managers… Amy Entelis, EVP, Talent & Content Development, Virginia Moseley, EVP, Editorial, and Eric Sherling, EVP, US 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 appointed. We are in good hands, allowing us to take the time to conduct a thoughtful and thorough search for a new leader. I recognize that changes like this can be stressful and I appreciate your patience during this process.
You’ve heard me say it many times: CNN has the best journalists in the world…we are deeply committed to supporting them and the critical work CNN does every day. We need to get this right – and we will!
David
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of MSNBC and CNBC.
(TagsToTranslate)Warner Bros Discovery Inc
