CNN CEO Facing Increasingly Angry Newsroom

Chris Licht

Chris Licht has been faulted by the newsroom for too many changes and not enough communication. Licht needs to find a big voice for the 9 p.m. hour and some say he's looking for a new Larry King. CNN's CFO departed last week and after hundreds of layoffs this year, more cuts are on the horizon.

Chris Licht Entered the CEO job in May with a solid helping of goodwill. But six months into his tenure, multiple insiders said, the former showrunner and EP of CBS' "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" has burned through that good will: More CNN employees have been laid off and those who remain have questioned Licht's programming decisions and his authority, with many presuming that his moves are driven by Warner Brothers Discovery CEO David Zaslav's cost-cutting zeal, reports Insider.

"People are starting to believe there is no plan," said one executive familiar with the workings of CNN. A second person familiar with internal conversations at the network described widespread frustrations about Licht's "utter lack of communication."

"Very, very senior senior people and talent are finding out about wholesale changes that impact them and their teams via press release," this second person added, "horrible programming decisions that folks don't have confidence in."

On WBD's third-quarter earnings call Thursday, Zaslav acknowledged that changes across the company have been "messy," but he said people would see the full picture in the coming months and, regarding CNN, he highlighted "CNN This Morning," which launched Tuesday with anchors Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins. Licht previously ran "CBS This Morning" and was a co-creator of MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

 

"No one knows morning television like Chris Licht," Zaslav said. Courage is a quality Licht will need when he hosts a global town hall for staff in mid-November. "They don't trust leadership," said the person familiar with newsroom conversations. "Is Chris Licht going to be there for them and push back on government officials? They don't get the sense they're really protected."

Licht has taken a hands-off approach in contrast to Zucker, and as the company hits more challenges, insiders say he hasn't clarified his vision. And there's more bad news ahead with the next round of "severe" cuts coming in the next few weeks, three people familiar with conversations at CNN. Incremental staff reductions had been expected, said one of these people, but managers in the past few weeks were told to submit more names for layoffs, according to another insider.

CNN's CFO, Neil Chugani, exited last week and Licht is on the hunt for a replacement. Meanwhile, staff are being deluged with change upon change — new internal conferencing systems, new email addresses in the works — with little to no communication about the details or regard to the timing. One talent agent told Insider that staff are being told not to travel by air unless it's absolutely necessary, and not to book hotels if they can avoid it.

No host for the 9 p.m. hour and a search for a new Larry King

Licht's shots so far are viewed by a growing number of TV news executives as falling short of the mark. Almost a year after Chris Cuomo exited the network, there's still a hole at 9 p.m.

Before the "CNN This Morning" launch, shifting Jake Tapper to 9 p.m. from his previous 4 p.m. perch was Licht's most notable programming move. But it was announced as a temporary shift and has not been a success — Tapper will return to his original time slot after the midterms, when more big on-air changes are also expected.

"You are going to see far more aggressive changes on air," said former CNN International Editor David Clinch, now head of Global Partnerships at consultancy Mather Economics. "That's my expectation."

Clinch told Insider CNN is looking for a personality who could have the same revenue impact as Larry King once did in primetime — a bid to create appointment viewing that can draw large audiences and advertisers along with them. Clinch also suggested Licht could look to someone like CNN's Michael Smerconish.  A WBD exec familiar with plans confirmed that Licht is looking for an "out-of-the-box idea" for primetime.