BackCNN CEO Chris Licht steps down
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav appoints a four-person interim leadership team, and says that he would conduct a thorough search for Licht's replacement
PremiumAfter a tumultuous year, Chris Licht has stepped down from the post of CEO at CNN on Wednesday.
The development was announced at CNN's editorial meeting on Wednesday morning and came just two days after Licht said he would fight like hell to earn the trust of those around him.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has appointed a four-person interim leadership team, and said at the editorial meeting that he would conduct a thorough search for Licht's replacement.
Licht had produced MSNBC's Morning Joe, CBS morning news show and Stephen Colbert's late-night show.
He was appointed by Zaslav just over a year ago to replace Jeff Zucker. Zucker was fired for not revealing a consensual relationship with a fellow CNN executive.
Zaslav said in a memo to CNN staff members that the job was never going to be easy, especially at a time of great disruption and transformation.
Chris poured his heart and soul into it, he said. 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.
Zaslav appointed four current CNN executives — Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling and David Leavy — to run the network while a search for a replacement is conducted.
We are in good hands, allowing us to take the time we need to run a thoughtful and thorough search for a new leader, Zaslav said in the memo.
Earlier this year, Licht revamped CNN’s morning show, but that proved unsuccessful and led to the firing of longtime personality Don Lemon. Efforts to build a new prime-time lineup moved slowly, with Kaitlan Collins only recently appointed to fill at 9 pm hour without a permanent host since Chris Cuomo was fired in December 2021.
Licht oversaw layoffs last year following Zaslav’s decision to shutter the CNN streaming service only weeks after it had started.
Some of CNN's chief anchors — Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett — had privately expressed their reservations about Licht's leadership, according to a Wall Street Journal article that was posted Tuesday evening.
(With inputs from AP)
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