Embattled CNN CEO Chris Licht stepping down after controversial year

CNN is seeking a new captain. Again.

Chris Licht, the embattled CEO of the cable news network, is out at the company, effective immediately.

The news, first reported by trade publication Puck and confirmed by CNN's parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, comes five days after Licht was the subject of a devastating profile in The Atlantic. The 15,000-word article portrayed him as an ineffectual leader presiding over a "meltdown" at the news organization, including a widely-criticized town hall featuring former President Donald Trump, plummeting ratings and crashing morale among top anchors and correspondents.

Licht took the reigns of CNN last year after the network's then-parent company WarnerMedia merged with Discovery. The new company made swift changes at the network, immediately shuttering CNN+, a streaming service that had launched only a month earlier, laying off hundreds of workers and announcing plans to cut back on non-news programming. Licht, appointed by CEO David Zaslav, arrived with a mandate to make CNN more middle-of-the-road in its coverage, which many interpreted as more right-wing. In the Atlantic profile, Licht wavers about the mission of CNN and the definition of "absolute truth."

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In a staff meeting Wednesday, Zaslav told CNN employees, "I met with Chris and he will be leaving CNN. ... For a number of reasons, things didn't work out, and that's unfortunate. It's really unfortunate. And ultimately, that's on me, and I take full responsibility for that. But now we begin a new page. This is an extraordinary organization." Zaslav said it would take several months to install a permanent leadership team.

Until then, an interim replacement team includes Amy Entelis, a longtime CNN executive who oversaw CNN Films; Virginia Moseley, EVP of editorial; Eric Sherling, executive VP of U.S. programming; and David Leavy, who was named chief operating officer last Thursday and will oversee business operations.

Licht, 51, replaced beloved news chief Jeff Zucker, 58, a former CEO of NBCUniversal. Zucker was forced out of the company in February 2022 after admitting that he had violated corporate rules by not revealing his romantic relationship with a key deputy, CNN marketing chief Allison Gollust. Filling Zucker's shoes was no easy task, and Licht had an unconventional – and perhaps underqualified – background for the job, coming directly from CBS, where he was executive producer of the late-night talk show, "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." He had also previously worked in morning television, producing "CBS This Morning" and MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Licht's primary initiative in his short tenure at CNN was the relaunch of its morning show "CNN This Morning," naming Don Lemon, Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow as co-anchors. But in April, Lemon, who had a history of controversial and embarrassing comments, was ousted by the company in a messy firing that spilled over onto Twitter. And he threw Collins into battling Trump in a contentious town hall, stocked with an audience of loyal supporters of the former president who hissed at her and cheered him on.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Licht out at CNN: CEO exits network after controversial year