CNN ripped over Trump town hall
‘Reason’ senior editor Robby Soave tells ‘MediaBuzz’ left-wing criticisms over CNN having Donald Trump on is ‘crazy,’ maintaining it's journalist’s job to talk to him.
CNN CEO Chris Licht has experienced more downs than ups in a little over a year on the job, and the uproar over an unflattering profile of his tenure last week underscored his continued inability to win over a skeptical newsroom, insiders tell Fox News Digital.
Licht apologized on a staff call Monday morning, saying he would "fight like hell" to win back trust and regretted he had overshadowed the network's journalism after a tome-length Atlantic story about him came out last week. With remarkable access over several months, writer Tim Alberta depicted Licht as both assured of his vision to remake the liberal network but also increasingly isolated, self-obsessed and disliked.
It showed Licht make scathing remarks about CNN's prior coverage of COVID-19, tell Donald Trump to "have fun" before his CNN town hall last month and take repeated shots at the tenure of former CNN boss Jeff Zucker. In the meantime, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who tapped Licht for the job last year, appointed corporate ally David Leavy as CNN's new COO, absorbing the business side of operations and signaling Licht's stock was falling.
A CNN insider told Fox News Digital that Licht's apology Monday wasn't well-received, saying that his actions over his tenure spoke far louder than his words, and the more Licht was in the newsroom with Leavy taking over the business side, the more miserable people would be.
An unflattering feature about CNN CEO Chris Licht in The Atlantic has been the talk of the journalism industry since it was published on Friday. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
They added that Licht had already lost the staff even before the Atlantic's profile, which has for many sealed their negative opinion of him. To add insult to injury, CNN's media scribe Oliver Darcy bemoaned the "awful state of affairs" at the network on Monday night and described his boss as having "alienated much of the employee base." Known for his morning show chops and successful tenure producing CBS' "The Late Show" before taking the CNN job, Licht has hit a wall.
"It looks like Chris Licht’s long string of good luck and perfect timing has come to an ugly end," one former CNN producer told Fox News Digital. "The embarrassing quotes from his personal trainer in the Atlantic article are the last straw, and he’s making David Zaslav look like a fool for this buffoonish hire. Zaslav should cut his losses now and give poor CNN a fresh start."
The legacy media has had knives out for Licht in recent weeks, with another stinging report about Licht from Puck's Dylan Byers following the Atlantic piece.
Byers focused on Zaslav's recent appointment of Leavy as CNN's new COO, noting that "for all intents and purposes" he will be a co-CEO. Zaslav also gave lukewarm support to Licht in The Atlantic piece and wouldn't give an interview defending his man in the building.
Byers, a former Zucker-era CNN media reporter who's provided scathing coverage of Licht's tenure as the network chief, swiped Zaslav's statement to Alberta, which he said was "by no means a ringing endorsement of Licht, but rather a generic, ChatGPT-style statement of support that provides him total optionality for CNN’s future." He then included the full statement that Brown had provided, revealing it primarily focused on defending CNN itself rather than Licht.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy has continued to rip into boss Chris Licht in his polemic newsletters. (CNN/Reuters)
A spokesman for Zucker told the New York Times that he obviously had "deep misgivings" about CNN's direction since he was ousted last year. Ex-CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter wrote for New York Magazine on Sunday that roughly 40 CNN staffers reached out to him, largely to complain or vent about Licht.
"Staffers I spoke with were startled by the lapse in judgment that Licht’s participation in The Atlantic profile represented. And they were particularly offended by Licht’s assertion that CNN unduly hyped COVID for ratings," the former CNN reporter continued.
Licht's detractors have been omnipresent in other media reports, but he has his defenders as well. One insider told Fox News Digital they agreed with where he wanted to take CNN as he continues to take incoming from the media industry and within the network.
Another read Stelter's story in New York Magazine and told Fox News Digital the ex-CNN media correspondent came off as a "disgruntled employee." Stelter insists there are no hard feelings; he's written that Licht dismissed him in such an agreeable manner that the two have joked about it since then.
"The Brian Stelters of the world… want to see CNN fall apart and they want to say ‘They shouldn’t have fired me,'" the insider said. "Based on the numbers, it’s not an A+ report card. His goal to get CNN back to its roots and hardcore news and balanced conversation is an admirable [goal], but it’s just taking longer than he anticipated."
The insider told Fox News Digital many of CNN's journalists were offended by the notion they were anything but unbiased, although the internal uproar over Trump's mere presence at last month's controversial town hall belied that premise.
"It will be hard" for him to earn the trust of CNN staff, they said, "particularly since his predecessor Zucker was "beloved" by them for because "he was hands-on."
"It was right for him to apologize. The apology was important," the insider added. "No disrespect to Tim Alberta… but giving him unbridled access is always a recipe for disaster… It's tough to predict [whether Licht will be fired]… From a business perspective, It would make sense to find someone else."
Jeff Zucker, left, was replaced by CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht in 2022. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
At a network with many people still loyal to Zucker and his left-leaning, pugnacious approach to the news in the Trump era, Licht's rhetoric about drawing CNN back to the middle and winning back the trust of skeptical Republicans has won him many internal detractors.
During his tenure, he's executed layoffs ordered by parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, axed the widely mocked CNN+ streaming service dreamed up by his predecessor, fired Zucker-era hires like Stelter and John Harwood, launched a new morning show marked by melodrama and poor viewership, and seen ratings and revenue fall.
Liberal host Don Lemon, the centerpiece of "CNN This Morning" after Licht bounced him from primetime, lasted less than six months in the job before he was fired as well.
CNN FACING ‘FURY’ FROM STAFFERS OVER TRUMP TOWN HALL: ‘IT FELT LIKE 2016 ALL OVER AGAIN’
But then came the town hall with Trump on May 10, perhaps the personification of the shift from Zucker to Licht and the most wrenching episode of his tenure to date. Zucker and Trump once made TV magic together with "The Apprentice" on NBC, but they became sharp mutual antagonists by the time he entered office. Licht, however, gave him a primetime platform in front of a laughing, cheering New Hampshire Republican audience.
Trump called moderator Kaitlan Collins "nasty," maintained his belief the 2020 election was stolen and clearly reveled in the limelight as he brushed aside Collins' fact-checking efforts of his various claims about January 6 and other hot-button topics. Liberal media critics and Democrats shrieked over the event, calling it dangerous and misguided, and many CNN staffers publicly and private fumed it was an embarrassing mistake. Some defended Licht's call, noting Trump is the clear frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination and pretending he didn't exist was just as wrongheaded.
CNN faced furious criticism for airing a town hall in May with former President Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP nomination. (Screenshot/CNN)
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Figures like Darcy and Christiane Amanpour publicly lambasted Licht for the event. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper agreed the town hall was "disturbing" and said viewers had the right to be angry and not watch the channel anymore, although he too noted Trump was a significant candidate and shouldn't be ignored.
Licht is still trying to rally CNN behind him and do damage control, but an insider says his decision to demean everyone from the crew to the on-air talent has essentially left him as an emperor with no clothes to the rank-and-file.
Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment.
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