The ratings have dropped. Profits have shrunk. A top star has been pushed out.
CNN has had a tumultuous first year under Chris Licht, who took over as CEO of the network last spring. And 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 over the past few days as to whether Mr. Light persists as CEO – and whether he should. Speculation was also fueled by a decision last week to appoint David Leavy — a trusted associate of David Zaslav, the CEO of CNN’s parent company — to a leadership role at the network, a sign that Zaslav thinks CNN is in dire need of management help.
Speaking about the uproar during an editorial on Monday, Mr Licht said he will “fight like hell” to regain the trust of CNN staff.
“I know the past few days have been very difficult for this group,” he said, “and I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it overshadowed and distracted from the work of every journalist in this organization. And for that I am sorry.”
CNN declined to comment on Mr. Licht’s comments on the phone call.
Here are some of the many problems that have plagued the network over the past year.
Programming errors and viewing problems
A programming error or two can be overlooked if compensated for by a series of reviews elsewhere. But in Mr. Licht’s 13 months, those wins were few and far between.
Ratings for CNN have dropped significantly since Mr. Licht took over. Last month, the conservative news network Newsmax attracted several times more viewers than CNN, a once unthinkable idea.
Mr. Light took the time to find a 9 p.m. anchor — a job opening he’d inherited — and the network’s ratings plummeted while waiting. A brief sting last fall — putting Jake Tapper in the 9 p.m. slot, billed as a temporary assignment — drew lukewarm interest from viewers. And in February, Mr. Light began an experiment to fill that hour with town halls, single-topic episodes, and high-profile interviews.
The experiment was a dud, and CNN saw some of its lowest ratings in more than two decades. In May, Mr. Licht had decided to tap Kaitlan Collins at 9 p.m. after she showed some ratings as a primetime guest anchor. He has not announced a permanent replacement for the 10 p.m. slot.
Some recent programming changes have given hope to network executives, including an overhaul of the daytime lineup and a new Sunday news magazine anchored by Anderson Cooper. The network’s extensive coverage of major news events has remained steady.
Don Lemon and the Morning Show Mess
One of Mr. Licht’s biggest mistakes was his very first major programming move as CEO: remaking the network’s morning show.
It made sense that the first revision of Mr. Licht’s signature would be in the morning. After all, he was a morning show impresario and had successful tenures on “Morning Joe” and “CBS This Morning.”
“The show will set the tone for the entire day, and it will set the tone for the news organization,” Mr. Licht said in September, two months before the show, renamed “CNN This Morning,” began.
He brought together three anchors: Don Lemon, the network’s outspoken 10 p.m. anchor; Poppy Harlow, a regular 14-year veteran of the network; and Mrs. Collins, the then 30-year-old star-in-the-making White House reporter.
But the ratings for the show out of the gate were doomed. And tensions on set escalated sharply in February when Mr Lemon said on-air that politician Nikki Haley, 51, was not “in her prime”.
In April, Mr. Light mr. Lemon. A few weeks later, he reassigned Ms. Collins to her new prime-time slot. Just a few months after its premiere, the morning show has yet to be renewed.
Shrinking profits
Prior to Mr. Licht’s arrival, CNN had generated more than $1 billion in profits in recent years. But last year, CNN generated about $750 million in profit, up from about $1.25 billion the previous year. (The lower number included about $200 million in one-time losses from the CNN+ streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery said.)
Some employees at CNN have become frustrated with Chris Marlin, the network’s head of strategy and operations, who was hired by Mr. Licht. Employees who have worked with Mr. Marlin, an old friend of Mr. Licht, have complained that he has little experience managing major cable news networks — he previously worked for Florida homebuilder Lennar — and are baffled by some of the ideas that he has. championed, including expanding CNN’s digital business into international regions such as China.
Donald Trump’s City Hall
No editorial decision by Mr. Licht has been more criticized than his dealings with a town hall with former President Donald J. Trump.
Mr. Licht’s boss, Mr. Zaslav, has said he believes CNN’s reporting has evolved too far into “advocacy” journalism under its predecessor, Jeff Zucker. Mr. Licht has sought to include the perspectives of commentators and newsmakers from across the political spectrum, including conservatives.
A major test of that strategy occurred at City Hall on May 10, when Mr. Trump unleashed a deluge of untruths to a cheering and adoring crowd, including when he called City Hall moderator Ms. Collins a “nasty woman.” . .”
The broadcast was widely criticized both within and outside the network. Some of the talents on the air looked dazed after City Hall wrapped up, and Christiane Amanpour, one of the network’s top presenters, took issue with the forum, saying she and Mr. Licht “respectfully disagree” about allowing it. from Mr. Trump to act. a town hall in that format.
Mr. Licht defended the decision to host City Hall, saying “America was very well served” by the broadcast. CNN’s host, Mr. Cooper, argued on the air that the network’s forum with Mr. Trump prepared voters to make an informed decision.
“After last night, none of us can say, ‘I didn’t know what’s out there,'” Mr Cooper said.
Staff revolt
Amid the difficulty, Mr. Licht has suffered a crisis of confidence among his associates, many of whom believe he has lost contact with journalists on the network.
After joining CNN last year, Mr. Light takes up residence on the 22nd floor, high above the newsroom, which some of his associates perceive as aloofness.
Some employees were particularly goaded by Mr Licht’s comments to The Atlantic criticizing the network’s coverage of Covid-19, which many employees were hearing for the first time.
In recent months, many of the staff have called Mr. Licht’s predecessor, Mr. Zucker, to express their grievances about the network’s leadership since his departure. A spokeswoman for Mr. Zucker told The New York Times, “It is not at all surprising that Jeff Zucker, the architect of CNN’s unprecedented success, would have serious doubts about the direction the network has taken since he left.”
During his telephone conversation with staff on Monday, Mr. Light that he would move his office to a lower floor and close it on an optimistic note, harking back to his roots as a TV producer trying to “make shows the best they can be”. .”
“And that’s where I’ll be leaning next to you,” Mr. Light said.
