(New York) The CEO of CNN, Chris Licht, will leave the management of the American news channel, the group announced on Wednesday, after several weeks of turmoil within the editorial staff, some of which challenged his management.
Chris Licht had taken the reins of the oldest continuous news channel in the United States in May 2022, after the sudden departure of the emblematic boss Jeff Zucker, who had not informed his leaders of his romantic relationship with a CNN executive.
Since then, the 50-year-old has tried to revive the old lady of continuous news, whose audiences are suffering from competition with its conservative rival Fox News, but also with MSNBC, with a more left-wing editorial line.
He has made several changes to the program schedule, without success so far, and attempted a few media stunts, first of all the live broadcast in public with Donald Trump as a guest, in mid-May.
This program was badly received by part of the public, but also within the editorial staff, who saw in it a platform offered without reservation to the former president, in front of an audience of Republican sympathizers for the most part committed to his cause. .
Moreover, the show’s effect on audiences was short-lived, as a few days later, CNN slipped behind the small, conservative channel Newsmax in the day’s rankings.
Chris Licht’s position was further weakened by the publication last week of a very long article in The Atlantic magazine, which underlined the clear break between the leader and his teams.
“The task was not easy, especially at a time of great upheaval and transformation and Chris put his heart into it,” CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said in a note. internal obtained by AFP.
“Unfortunately things didn’t go as we had hoped and in the end I take responsibility for that,” he added.
The chain indicated that the replacement of Chris Licht had not yet been chosen, and that in the meantime, CNN would rely on an interim management team, made up of three vice-presidents already within the group. for editorial matters and number two for the commercial part.