He made the rounds with Republicans as well as Democrats on Capitol Hill and at the Biden White House, making this case about how he sees CNN. This wasnt to plot a new course but to assure people we would not let up one inch in being truth tellers, he said. Its important for a functioning society.. Mr. Licht has barely begun to put his stamp on the networks programming, but its already evident in the new morning show, CNN This Morning. Mr. Licht picked the hosts, persuading the left-leaning Don Lemon to trade his prime-time slot for early morning, and pairing him with the former Daily Caller reporter and CNN White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow, a former host of CNN Newsroom. The show takes a somewhat similar approach to the one he used at CBS This Morning (which also shares a near-identical name). But the episode encapsulated, I think, the tension between the CNN that's been and the CNN that's evolving. Ted Turners mantra had always been the news is the star. Mr. Trump is not the star, Mr. Zaslav said. Copyright 2022 NPR. Chris Licht is known for CBS This Morning (1992), CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley (2011) and Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News (2020). In 2018, CNNs New York headquarters had to be evacuated after a bomb threat. Mr. Lichts vision is contending with industrywide pressures to cut costs. Licht also dispensed with the services of media critic and host Brian Stelter. Read More Maggie Vespa NBC News Salary, Age, Height, Husband, Net WorthContinue. It happened to fit where CNN was going and they really embraced it., The success of Lichts reconfiguration, Pekary says, will depend on whether the bills get paid. Licht began his news career in 1995 at KNBC in Los Angeles. He is said to prefer the more specific Trumps lie or lies about the election. But for Mr. Licht, nothing less than democracy itself was at stake. Known for . Who is Kristina Partsinevelos? Similarly, the outspoken progressive anchor Don Lemon broke with orthodoxy by asking plainly if Joe Biden, turning 80 in November, had the stamina, physically and mentally, to continue on even after 2024. Licht was born to Susan Mary (Kneeland) and Dr. Peter David Licht of Newtown, Connecticut. But the larger point may be that audiences are no longer as engaged by US domestic politics as they were during the Trump administration when most news organizations grew their audiences significantly. At the end of November, Mr. Licht levied another round of job cuts this time just under 10 percent of CNNs work force of about 4,000, which plunged morale further. Related:Andy Jassy Amazon CEO, Leadership Style, Age, Wife, Salary, Net worth, Licht experienced a brain hemorrhage while driving in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2010, narrowly escaping death. Some at CNN felt Mr. Zucker had been unfairly sacrificed and remained staunchly loyal to their former boss. But still, a new poll suggests Republican voters are mostly in favor of Trump. Rian Johnson, Halle Berry, and More Share Their Inspiration, From the Archive:Who Stole the Oscars? He was named Zuckers replacement on February 26, 2022, following the surprise resignation of CNN President Jeff Zucker in February 2022. Even if he raises ratings? asked Swisher. CNN has made a number of changes since new boss Chris Licht took the helm. Rumors have been circulating this week that more outspoken left-leaning anchors and contributors at CNN could soon be dropped. Reliably lousy: Brian Stelter's CNN show draws lowest rati Jay Leno reveals his unbelievable new face three months after car fire, Sunny Hostin Points Finger at China for COVID Crisis: Did Not Cooperate With the International Community, Good luck 'worming' your way out of this one, Kanye West and 'wife' Bianca Censori look surprisingly happy on dinner date, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave. The American Way Versus the Politicians Way. Discovery Upfront 2022 show at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 18, 2022 in New York City. CNN has long claimed to be the most trusted name in news but its recent history has seen the rolling US cable news channel court controversy with a shift to the left as the rise of Donald Trump roiled American politics. [CDATA[*/Insticator.ad.loadAd("div-insticator-ad-1");Insticator.ad.loadAd("div-insticator-ad-2");Insticator.load("em",{id : "6cf39429-6912-4a91-b1e2-3e9365a5e9c6"});/*]]>*/. CNNs ratings declined, on average, this year compared with 2021, according to Nielsen, with CNN falling behind MSNBC for the first time in prime time on election night among total viewers. During that conversation, Mr. Zaslav warned Mr. Licht that hed be closely scrutinized and judged harshly. If youre essential then the revenue will follow., Maybe it wont work, Mr. Licht conceded. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Thats a little bit like asking why The New York Times has had more stories about Hillary than anyone else." CNN remained enviably profitable, earning over $1 billion a year for the past five years. JOHN HARWOOD: Now, that's something that's not easy for us as journalists to say. The effort to turn CNN away from being the story (Donald Trump memorably christened it Fake News Network; Anderson Cooper called him an obese turtle on his back flailing in the hot sun) to reporting it, comes amid pressure from cable-TV distributors to drop politically contentious cable channels. In March 2016, Zucker reportedly claimed the media had been doing too much handwringing over how Trump is covered. Chris Licht took over as the new CEO of CNN and has found it even harder than he initially thought to make significant changes to the first 24/7 news network. After watching CNN, Mr. Licht said he hoped people would take what theyve heard to the dinner table and have a discussion., Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Licht, whose appointment may be announced by Discovery Inc . They obviously like each other, he said. New CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht has been making headlines for his moves to change the network's reputation for being hostile to former President Donald Trump. Newhouse School of Public Communications alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 17:30. Among the casualties were familiar commentators like Chris Cillizza, key behind-the-scenes producers with decades of experience, and the entirety of HLN, CNNs sister network, and its popular morning host, Robin Meade. Vanity Fairs 2023 Hollywood Issue Welcomes You to the After-Party of Our Dreams, Inside the New Rights Next Frontier:The American West, The Strange, Sexually Charged Genesis of Gloria Swansons Legendary Memoir, The One Thingthe Royal Family Never Travels Without: Blood, NetflixsMurdaugh Murders Team Say Theyve Uncovered New Crimes, Trumps Relationship With Jared and Ivanka Is About to Get a Lot More Awkward, The Cringey Sexcapades of a Horny Billionaire, What Is Cinema? His background consists largely of producing anti-GOP programs such as MSNBCs Morning Joe and Stephen Colberts late-night show on CBS. In an all-staff meeting in November, Mr. Licht said he stood by his earlier remark that there would be no merger-related layoffs, and I absolutely would not have said something that I did not believe to be true. But he said he understood how his remarks had hurt his credibility. 6 wins & 24 nominations total; Photos. We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers, newly installed Licht wrote in a memo to employees this month, saying there needs to be room for nuance. Since then, he and Mr. Colbert have spoken nearly every Friday. Soon after the Warner-Discovery deal was announced, Mr. Zaslav summoned Mr. Licht to Discoverys headquarters in Manhattan on 19th Street and asked what he thought of CNN. As a reporter and producer, he covered a mass shooting in San Bernardino, the plane crash that killed John F. Kennedy Jr., two presidential campaigns and three Olympics. He lifted ratings at the perennial also-ran CBS This Morning on the strength of the programs three hosts, Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Norah ODonnell, and an emphasis on news and in-depth interviews, rather than the lighter fare format of its competitors Today and Good Morning America.. [26] As CBS This Morning's executive producer, he was co-nominated for three Emmy Awards in 2015: one for Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast, one for Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast, and one for Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast. Mr. Zaslav ignored the demurral. We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers, Licht said in another memo obtained by Axios. But CNN CEO Chris Licht says he does know what not to do: repeat CNN's coverage circa 2016. The announcement comes as Trumps lies about the 2020 election, and incitement of the Capitol mob, are front and center at the January 6 hearings airing on CNN and other major networks. Licht purportedly told the producers that his stance did not constitute a mandate for CNNs shows which are in the midst of covering the ongoing Jan. 6 select committee hearings on the events surrounding last years Capitol riot. But whatever changes Licht makes, it wont fool the GOP base who rightly see the network as a permanent annex of the Democratic Party. But Id rather try to win this way.. And for more on that, we have NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. He was chosen to represent the Producers Guild of America East on the Board of Representatives in 2018. 2023 Cond Nast. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Zaslav called Licht . After Mr. Licht hung up, his wife, Jennifer Blanco Licht, a former TV executive herself, asked: Is this crazy? Earlier this year, DirecTV, one of the largest US pay-TV providers, announced it would drop One America News Network, the conservative channel criticized for spreading misinformation. After long absences, several Republicans have since appeared on CNN, including Mr. McCarthy and Senator Rick Scott of Florida. Prime time looms as an even greater challenge. 1 news brand in the world, and the most trusted brand in news where people go every day and in a crisis for the best version of the truth., And more than that: This is important for America. Its not clear anyone could surmount those challenges, let alone someone whod just spent nearly six years at a late-night entertainment show and had never managed a complex, globe-spanning organization with thousands of employees. Trumps Relationship With Jared and Ivanka. Trumps Relationship With Jared and Ivanka. [14][15][16] A month after he was named executive producer and showrunner of The Late Show, the show saw its largest weekly audience since February 19 of that year. There are a lot of signs of news fatigue and people are switching off, says Pope. Discovery chief David Zaslav has reportedly zeroed in on the replacement for former CNN President Jeff Zucker, and it will be Chris Licht, as first reported by Puck News' Dylan Byers.. Licht's hiring was expected to come at a special Discovery shareholders meeting March 11, but CNN is expected to make the announcement next week, according to CNN's Brian Stelter. Mr. Licht told him he had no interest in running it. Mr. Licht seemed to have TV news in his DNA. However, not much is known about his family and background. Prior to Morning Joe, Licht worked as an executive producer and senior producer for Joe Scarboroughs MSNBC show Scarborough Country.. Since then, he and Mr. Colbert have spoken nearly every Friday. He killed the show "Reliable Sources." February 22, 2023 | 7:11pm. Fox News, by contrast, had revenues of $12.3bn off a far larger audience. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Each time, Mr. Colbert begins with the same four words: "I told you . Correction: This story initially said CNN rehired Wallace, but Wallace never stopped being employed by the network after it folded CNN+, a spokesperson said. CHANG: That is NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. Watch and see. Some at the network are skeptical. His first major act was to kill the networks fledgling streaming service, CNN+, and fire 400 or so people working on it. Chris Licht is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CNN Worldwide. Miller most recently. ), One-hundred percent. A few months later, high-profile departures and arrivals may signal how he will lead the network. ), Mr. Licht moved to CBS in 2010, where hed scored another early morning success. This is a calling, Mr. Licht countered. Daily updates from Washington, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley. [23] Licht has expressed a desire to change negative perceptions of CNN among Republicans. While in charge of CBS This Morning, he was credited with making the show unexpectedly successful, giving CBS its most competitive place in the morning show race in almost 30 years. Most recently, Licht. He wants to reshape the team that's covering the White House, to focus more on reporting and less on analysis. Licht did clarify that the recommendation is his preference, rather than a network-wide mandate. [33] Jenny worked at CNN for several years as a producer for Anderson Cooper and then as a director of talent recruiting and development. Rupert Murdoch Colluded With Jared Kushner to Try to Throw the 2020 Election to Trump Because Of Course He Did, Trump Claims Ron DeSantis Gets Off on Killing Old People in Wheelchairs. If he were to put strong Republicans on the air, his hosts would revolt. The fact is that the wall between objective news and liberal opinion has completely collapsed at CNN and cant be rebuilt unless Licht fires Don Lemon and company, which, up to this point, Licht has shown no willingness to do. Nearly 12 years ago, self-described "maniac producer" Chris Licht was lying in a hospital bed wondering if he was going to survive a brain aneurysm. 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