Chris Licht, the embattled chief executive of CNN, apologized to network employees on Monday for distracting from their work
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.Licht replaced a popular leader, Jeff Zucker, with a mandate to win back some of the viewers alienated from CNN by former President Donald Trump’s attacks. That has caused some internal resentment and, for many, Trump’s town hall meeting last month was a misstep.
The executive’s revamp of CNN’s morning show fell flat, leading to the firing of longtime personality Don Lemon. Licht’s plans to restructure the network’s prime-time lineup have moved slowly. Kaitlan Collins is to begin a new show later this month, and CNN has signed Charles Barkley and Gayle King to host a once-a-week program.
In his Atlantic profile, writer Tim Alberta wrote that Licht had “swaggered” into his new job, telling employees their hostility toward Trump had alienated viewers who saw CNN as the safe center. This put him in the position of fighting to win over Republicans as well as some CNN journalists who believed they were being made scapegoats by Licht’s efforts to please his boss, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
CNN reached 3.3 million people for its Trump town hall on May 10, yet two nights later its prime-time viewership plunged to 335,000 people, Nielsen said. One of Zaslav’s top aides at Warner Discovery, David Leavy, was appointed last week as chief operating officer of CNN Worldwide, reporting to Licht. Leavy will be responsible for commercial, operational and promotional activities at CNN, the network said.
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