CNN announced this morning that Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide has left the company effective today. Licht’s departure is believed to have been a result of what the news network termed “a series of severe missteps” during his 13 months at the helm.
Licht took over from Jeff Zucker, who stepped down in April 2022 after news of an undisclosed relationship with a CNN employee became public. Licht's term was marked by several incidents that impacted his ability to lead the news network, namely, the shutdown of the CNN Plus streaming service last summer and the more publicized controversy surrounding his decision to have the network host former President Donald Trump in a live town hall at the end of May as well as a damning profile in The Atlantic recently.
In apology to news staffers earlier this week Licht described the Atlantic's profile as "tremendously humbling,"
“I met with Chris and he will be leaving CNN,” David Zaslav, the chief executive of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, told CNN employees this morning, according to published reports.
Although Licht had tried to justify his decision on the Trump town hall in recent days, he had lost the confidence of much of CNN’s news staff. He did garner some support, however from his former colleagues at MSNBC, where he had previously worked, launching "Morning Joe" 15 years ago. He started in TV in the mid-90’s at KNBC Los Angeles and was also a former executive producer of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and EVP at CBS.
Amy Entelis has been named as the interim head of the network, according to Puck News.
