CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht confirmed his resignation from the network Wednesday after what people inside the outlet are describing as a “brief and tumultuous tenure.”
CNN CEO CHRIS LICHT IS OUT AFTER CONTROVERSIAL TENURE. WHAT BROUGHT HIM DOWN?@JoeConchaTV joined us with his take: "…I mean, he started there in April of 2022, so we're talking less than 15 months and he is gone… It was an internal coo, led by on-air talent… even the… pic.twitter.com/TOSwbxFx2f
— America's Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) June 7, 2023
“I met with Chris and he will be leaving CNN,” David Zaslav, the CEO of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, told CNN employees.
“Licht’s departure capped a tumultuous year for CNN, marked by layoffs, shrinking profits, historically low ratings, the firing of two anchors, and rock-bottom employee morale. The chaos that defined the last year also followed several other gut punches to the organization, including the ouster of previous leader, Jeff Zucker, and shuttering of nascent streaming service CNN+,” writes CNN’s website.
“But it became increasingly clear that Licht’s tenure as the chief executive was not tenable and quickly coming to an end. High-profile anchors and correspondents, in addition the the rank-and-file staff, had hit the wall with Licht. The CNN chief had, in effect, lost the room,” adds CNN.