CNN’s new boss kicked off his first day on the job by telling employees he wants to focus the network’s reporting on news and “truth” amid criticism over the scandal-scarred network’s heavy emphasis on opinion-based shows, reports The NY Post.
Chris Licht — who officially replaced CNN’s disgraced boss Jeff Zucker on Monday following stints as an executive producer at “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “CBS This Morning” — circulated a memo to employees saying “too many people have lost trust in the news media.”
“I think we can be a beacon in regaining that trust by being an organization that exemplifies the best characteristics of journalism: fearlessly speaking truth to power, challenging the status quo, questioning ‘group-think, and educating viewers and readers with straightforward facts and insightful commentary, while always being respectful of differing viewpoints.” Licht wrote.
“First and foremost, we should, and we will be advocates for the truth,” he added.
The memo marks Licht’s first remarks about his vision for the network. He recently addressed some 400 CNN employees last Thursday, after new management shuttered CNN+, the network’s expensive one-month old streaming service.
Licht was handpicked by David Zaslav, the incoming CEO of CNN’s new corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery, which is comprised of WarnerMedia, also home to HBO, and Discovery, which owns TLC, Animal Planet and Food Network.
Earlier this month, Zaslav told employees that he wants CNN to focus on the facts and set itself apart from a cable-news industry that he says is monopolized by “advocacy networks.”
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