Chris Licht

Not even Fox’s $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems can compare to the drama that’s enveloped CNN during and after the one-year reign of Chris Licht, who some insiders have described as a Julius Caesar figure surrounded by backstabbers.

Between one-third to one-half of new CEOs fail within the first 18 months, and CNN’s debacle with recently ousted chief Chris Licht is only media’s most recent dramatic example. Here’s a guide to the most common C-suite pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Even beyond fired CEO Chris Licht’s programming blunders, the cable-news giant is facing industry-wide challenges and corporate hurdles that could make it a hard role to fill.

Jeffrey M. McCall: “Licht’s failure is bad not only for CNN, which is now likely to remain saddled with historically bad ratings, but for the journalism industry as a whole. He was run out of town by the various forces that no longer see a value in information-based, serious, nonpartisan journalism, including the social media mobs who decried Licht’s strategy to reach a wider range of viewers than just the left-of-center audience CNN had catered to for years. Joining the war on Licht were CNN employees themselves, who savaged their boss in a recent magazine report.”

It’s possible – likely, even – that Chris Licht would have survived all of this if it weren’t for the one thing that really mattered: the numbers.

CNN’s ad revenue fell nearly 40% year over year during Chris Licht’s tenure as CEO of the cable news network, which came to an abrupt end Wednesday. For the first four months of 2022 — immediately before Licht’s appointment as CEO became effective — advertisers spent $513 million on CNN’s TV and digital outlets. From January through April 2023, advertisers spent $313 million, marking a 39% year-over-year decrease in ad revenue, according to data collected by MediaRadar.

In the ousted Chris Licht, CNN had a leader who was not introspective enough to understand why he was failing. He leaves behind an organization in worse shape than when he arrived.

The change was announced at CNN’s editorial meeting Wednesday morning and came just two days after Licht said he would “fight like hell” to earn the trust of those around him. David Zaslav, CEO of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, appointed a four-person interim leadership team, and said at the editorial meeting that he would conduct a thorough search for Licht’s replacement.

Chris Licht, whose brief run as CNN’s chairman was marked by chaos, controversy and layoffs, was ousted at the network Tuesday. “For a number of reasons things didn’t work out, and that’s unfortunate,” said David Zaslav, CEO of CNN’s Parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, of the move.

CEO Chris Licht apologized to CNN staffers during the network’s 9 a.m. editorial call on Monday after the Atlantic ran a devastating profile of the chief executive on Friday. “I know these past few days have been very hard for this group. I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it overshadowed the incredible week of reporting that we just had, and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this org. And for that, I am sorry,” Licht said, according to a Twitter thread by the network’s former chief media correspondent Brian Stelter.

CEO Chris Licht felt he was on a mission to restore the network’s reputation for serious journalism. How did it all go wrong?

There are no quick fixes in a major overhaul, but signs are that new CNN chief Chris Licht is having an impact despite serious headwinds. His critics should give him the time such a Herculean task needs to be realized.

Lemon’s assertion that the presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not “in her prime” roiled the network and put a harsh spotlight on its struggling morning show.

Licht is adding Bill Maher on Friday nights, and that may not be the only comic coming to CNN. But newsgathering is still the priority.

The Warner Bros. Discovery-backed news outlet intends to roll out a new, kinetic on-air format that will take many of its personnel out of the usual position of sitting behind desks and instead aim to generate more energy on camera by having some of the network’s real-time newsgathering on full display. The new presentation will be used during many of the network’s daytime hours, says Chris Licht, CNN’s chairman and CEO, who indicated in an interview that he plans to unveil a significantly revamped daytime schedule around the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter this year.

CNN is facing a turning point in 2023, after a bruising year that brought significant change to the network’s corporate structure, editorial leadership and programming. People inside and around the network for much of 2022 have described a feeling of unease, which was punctuated by a round of layoffs rolled out in December by new president Chris Licht.

During an appearance on “On With Kara Swisher,” CNN’s chairman and CEO Chris Licht opened about who he sees as competition for the cable news channel, and it isn’t Fox News.

Chris Licht faces an uphill battle at CNN. He got the CEO gig in the midst of a prickly merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery and right after the shocking exit of beloved long-time boss, Jeff Zucker. In his first six months, he’s shut down CNN+, ousted Brian Stelter, and shuffled anchors around, including Don Lemon and Jake Tapper. This week, the network chief held an internal town hall meeting where he faced a staff of thousands and discussed upcoming layoffs. Shortly afterwards, he sat down with Kara Swisher— who grilled him, of course.

Chris Licht, CNN’s CEO and chairman, held a town hall meeting with his staff on Tuesday, where he provided more details about the network’s upcoming layoffs. The town hall was a follow-up to revelations that a six-month business review of the network, which Licht had ordered, had just been concluded, and one of the takeaways from it was that job cuts would be happening towards the end of the year.

As behind the scenes drama plays out, CNN anchors will have to put on a happy face Tuesday when the curtain goes up on a new morning show. CNN This Morning is the first major initiative under CNN Chairman Chris Licht, who took the reins in April after a successful run at CBS, where he turned around the network’s morning news program and Stephen Colbert’s late night show. Above, CNN This Morning‘s co-anchors (l-r): Poppy Harlow, Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins — all familiar faces to the network’s viewers.

Food gurus like Anthony Bourdain and Stanley Tucci will no longer figure as prominently in the recipe for programming at CNN. Now, according to a memo from the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed outlet’s top executive, such ingredients are being put back on the shelf. “Our long-term plan will no longer rely on commissioned projects with outside partners,” said Chris Licht, CNN chairman-CEO, in a note to employees Friday. “This was a very difficult decision to make, and it was based, in large part, on the ever-increasing cost of commissioning third-party premium content. However, I want to be clear that longform content remains an important pillar of our programming.”

CNN will see layoffs and other cuts in the coming weeks, as the global news division responds to a worsening economic climate and as Warner Bros. Discovery continues its effort to bring together the WarnerMedia and Discovery businesses. CNN CEO Chris Licht explained the rationale in a memo to staff Wednesday, adding that “our aim is to have most of these decisions made by the end of the year so we can start 2023 feeling settled and prepared for the future.”

CNN’s new chief hopes primetime anchor Don Lemon can help the network gain ground in some of TV news’ toughest terrain. Chris Licht, who has vowed to tone down some of the more aggressive commentary at the network since taking its reins earlier this year, has enjoyed an eyebrow-raising streak in morning news. Now he’s betting he can do the same for CNN, even as TV networks are seeing new challenges to their sunrise efforts.

The CNN CEO is bringing on John Miller, a former top official for the NYPD who famously landed an Osama bin Laden interview while at ABC. Licht also announced another high-profile hire from CBS News, telling staff that Dr. Tara Narula would be joining as a medical correspondent for the network.

On Friday morning, CNN CEO Chris Licht addressed the decision to cancel the Sunday show Reliable Sources, and told staff on the news channel’s 9 a.m. editorial call that there will be more changes to come. “I want to acknowledge that this is a time of significant change, and I know that many of you are unsettled,” Licht said, according to multiple people on the call. “There will be more changes and you might not understand it or like it.”

Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski are in secret talks to move to CNN. Sources tell RadarOnline.com that CNN’s new boss Chris Licht, the man who made Joe and Mika morning TV stars on MSNBC, wants to bring the couple over to his new network. Licht joined MSNBC as an executive producer in 2005. He developed a close relationship with Scarborough and the two created Morning Joe.

Since taking over the network, Chris Licht has instituted sweeping changes, but the network’s ratings have continued to suffer.

CNN is holding a town-hall meeting on Thursday amid a turbulent two months at the cable news network, which is promising a new direction one month into the tenure of its new President Chris Licht. Licht and the leadership at CNN’s new corporate owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, have signaled they’d like to make a shift in the company’s direction from former chief Jeff Zucker, who left his post amid controversy.

CNN’s new boss, Chris Licht, is evaluating whether personalities and programming that grew polarizing during the Trump era can adapt to the network’s new priority to be less partisan. If talent cannot adjust to a less partisan tone and strategy, they could be ousted, three sources familiar with the matter say. Licht wants to give personalities that may appear polarizing a chance to prove they’re willing to uphold the network’s values so that they don’t tarnish CNN’s journalism brand.

Chris Licht, the new CNN chairman, is encouraging a more nuanced approach to coverage. Some at the network are skeptical.

Without mentioning CNN+, new CNN CEO Chris Licht on Wednesday set out the company’s plans for the rudderless news network. Those plans involve a morning show, a Sunday-night showcase and avoiding the kinds of advocacy journalism that has infected cable news. (Photo: Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)

Chris Licht, the new head of CNN global, told employees in a town hall on Thursday that he planned to experiment at the crucial prime-time hour this summer.

Chris Licht announced on Twitter today that his first day as chairman and CEO of CNN will be Monday, May 2, which is two weeks from today. Licht added that May 2 will also be his last day on Twitter, saying the platform, “can be a great journalistic tool, but it can also skew what’s really important in the world.” He joined Twitter in February 2009.

David Zaslav, the chief executive of Discovery who will lead the new company, appointed many of his longtime lieutenants to key positions.

New CNN honcho Chris Licht doesn’t actually start until May, but ever the savvy “operator” he has already begun backchanneling with key figures, including agents and reporters, and, according to two insiders familiar with the matter, making it known to Fox News that he is working toward a cease-fire on his network’s aggressive coverage of them.

After a career that had been entirely in news, Chris Licht was appointed executive producer of the Late Show in 2016 after a rocky first year with Colbert at the helm. He steadied the ship behind the scenes and the show jumped to the top of the ratings, propelled by the host’s biting takedowns of then-President Donald Trump. He was appointed Monday as the new head of CNN, where he’s expected to take over in May.