Licht Firing Was A Walk In Central Park

Chris Licht has broken his silence following his abrupt departure as CEO and global chairman of CNN Wednesday morning, calling his tenure “exciting but incredibly challenging.”

“This was an exciting but incredibly challenging assignment, and I learned a lot over the past 13 months,” Licht said in a statement to media. “I’ve been lucky enough to have had a successful, fulfilling career, and I look forward to my next chapter.”

The Wrap reports Licht’s statement comes hours after the former CEO’s ouster was announced by Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav in an editorial call, in which Zaslav said, “I met with Chris and he will be leaving CNN… We’re in the process of conducting a wide search, internally and externally, for a new leader.”

According to the New York Times, Zaslav invited Licht to meet him in Central Park Wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m., where Zaslav broke the news of Licht’s termination to the former CEO in the same spot where he was first offered the job.

When WBD Corporate boss David Zaslav broke the news of Licht’s exit to stunned staff he installed a troika of veterans — editorial head Virginia Moseley, programming chief Eric Sherling and talent boss Amy Entelis — to clean up the mess of his 13-month tenure.

Virginia Moseley

“Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief today,” a former CNN producer told The NY Post. “While people are happy that Licht is gone, there’s still a sense of dread that the turmoil is going to continue.”

The general feeling inside CNN’s New York headquarters at Hudson Yards is that CNN is a “house on fire,” the source added, noting that the three-headed monster is a “Band-Aid” for the situation, “not a long-term solution.”

Moseley’s ascension was particularly concerning to many staffers because of the exec’s “terse” and “icy” bedside manner, multiple sources said.

“She is a tyrant,” one former co-worker said. “She has no people skills whatsoever. She is iron-fisted and demanded everyone show up to work after the pandemic.”

“She’s not warm and fuzzy,” another source said.

Moseley, a Harvard University graduate who has been at CNN for a decade, was elevated last year by Licht to become executive vice president of editorial, overseeing all of CNN’s breaking news coverage and domestic newsgathering.