Chris Licht of CNN Faces a Crisis. Here’s Why.
Ratings have plummeted. Profits have shrunk. A top star has been pushed out.
CNN has had a tumultuous first year under Chris Licht, who took over as the network’s chief executive last spring. And then on Friday, a 15,000-word profile of Mr. Licht in The Atlantic cast new doubts about his leadership and future at the company.
All the turmoil has led some staff members to speculate privately in recent days about whether Mr. Licht will last as the chief executive — and whether he should. Also fueling speculation was a decision last week to appoint David Leavy — a trusted associate of David Zaslav, the chief executive of CNN’s parent — to a top leadership role at the network, a sign that Mr. Zaslav thinks CNN needs urgent management help.
Mr. Licht addressed the tumult on an editorial call Monday, saying he will “fight like hell” to win back the trust of CNN’s staff.
“I know these past few days have been very hard for this group,” he said, “and 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 organization. And for that, I am sorry.”
Source: The New York Times
