CNN CEO Chris Licht apologized to staffers on Monday, saying “I should not be in the news” following a damaging magazine story that has fueled speculation he may soon be toppled from the helm of the struggling cable network.
Licht on Monday told staffers that he was “sorry” after The Atlantic published a lengthy piece detailing how the boss has alienated rank-and-file employees with his aloof and increasingly paranoid management style and his criticism of the network’s old boss, Jeff Zucker.
“I know these past few days have been very hard for this group,” Licht, who is seeking to quell seething anger among the rank-and-file at the cable network, told an editorial meeting.
His remarks were reported by ex-CNN host Brian Stelter on his Twitter feed.
“I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it overshadowed the incredible week of reporting that we just had, and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this org,” Licht told his charges. “And for that, I am sorry.”
“As I read that article, I found myself thinking, CNN is not about me,” Licht continued. “I should not be in the news unless it’s taking arrows for you. Your work is what should be written about.”
Licht added: “To those whose trust I’ve lost, I will fight like hell to win it back, because you deserve a leader who will be in the trenches, fighting to ensure CNN remains the world’s most trusted name in news.”
Senior anchors, reporters, and correspondents at ratings-challenged cable news channel are so fed up with Licht that they have reportedly been phoning newly installed chief operating officer David Leavy to gripe about the CEO, whose future with the network is said to be in doubt.
“He’s over,” one employee reportedly told ex-CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter, who quoted several disgruntled former colleague for an article that appeared in New York Magazine over the weekend.
“He’s done,” another CNN staffer told Stelter, who tweeted that employees at the network are “startled, angry, sad, and despondent.”
“There’s no coming back from that profile,” another CNN employee told Stelter.
“How can he lead us now?” another unnamed CNN staffer was quoted as saying.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last week hired his longtime trusted lieutenant, Leavy, to be Licht’s No. 2 at CNN, though the move is believed to be a bad omen for the CEO, particularly in light of the fact that Zaslav declined to give Licht a vote of confidence.
Even though Leavy was scheduled to begin his new gig on June 20, he was thrust into the role over the weekend in hopes of containing the fallout from the Atlantic story, according to New York Magazine.
According to Stelter, Zaslav has been telling associates that Leavy is bringing adult supervision to the network.
There is no word as to whether the Warner Bros. Discovery boss has made a decision on Licht’s future.
Licht made revealing comments about his dissatisfaction with the network in an exposé by Atlantic journalist Tim Alberta, who was given front-row access to the CNN boss for long stretches of his first year in charge.
In the story, Licht is portrayed as hesitant to engage with his own employees, who find him inaccessible.
According to one anecdote from the story, Licht was busy scrolling through his cell phone reading a news article critical of his stewardship of CNN instead of conversing with his employees at a dinner.
Licht was also portrayed as obsessed with how he is depicted in media coverage of CNN.
According to the Atlantic article, Licht angrily confronted Puck media reporter Dylan Byers at a party to express his displeasure at a story he wrote.
The Atlantic also quoted Licht as repeatedly denigrating his predecessor, Zucker, the former CNN president who reportedly still commands loyalty from pockets of the network’s workforce.
The candor with which Licht expressed himself to Alberta in his 9,000-word article was a far cry from the reported lack of communication with his own employees, who were seething after the Atlantic story was published on Friday, according to New York Magazine.
In the Atlantic story, Licht, who was given a mandate by Zaslav to steer the network away from left-leaning, partisan commentary that was a central theme of its coverage of the Trump presidency, was also critical of CNN’s coverage of the COVID pandemic.
“Even if he thinks these things, if he’s so concerned with the CNN brand, what is the point of saying any of this stuff publicly?” a CNN staffer told New York Magazine.
“[Licht is] just giving haters on the right more ammo to bash us with while giving skeptics on the left more ammo to justify turning us off.”
The staffer added: “How does any of this help anything?”
The Post has sought comment from CNN.
Under Licht, the network has shed viewers, particularly in prime time.
In May, prime time viewership of CNN fell by 25% — despite a May 10 town hall with former President Donald Trump, which drew 3.3 million viewers.
CNN netted an average of 494,000 total viewers in May prime time — and just 113,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic, according to figures released by Nielsen.
Licht has been tinkering with the lineup, getting rid of longtime anchor Don Lemon while moving up-and-coming star Kaitlan Collins to prime time in an effort to boost ratings.
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