CNN Chairman Licht leaving beleaguered network: report

Beleaguered CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht is out after a tumultuous year at the news network, during which he was lambasted for a town hall featuring former President Donald Trump and a devastating magazine profile outlining his incompetency, according to reports.

David Zaslav, the CEO of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, confirmed the leadership change during the network’s editorial call Wednesday morning.

“I have great respect for Chris, personally and professionally, “Zaslav added in a subsequent statement.

“The job of leading CNN was never going to be easy, especially at a time of huge disruption and transformation, and he has poured his heart and soul into it,” he continued. “While we know we have work to do as we look to identify a new leader, we have absolute confidence in the team we have in place and will continue to fight for CNN and its world class journalism.”

The company said it is working to find a replacement. In the interim, executives Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling and David Leavy — the network’s newly appointed COO — will lead.

Licht’s brief tenure at the news organization was rife with programming missteps, rock-bottom ratings and layoffs, which ultimately tanked morale. His leadership misfires have prompted criticisms from many at CNN, including journalist Christiane Amanpour, who recently blasted his decision, during a commencement address for the Columbia School of journalism, to host the Trump town hall.

While her remarks sparked praise from fellow employees, Licht doubled down on the forum, declaring that “America was served very well by” the May 10 live television special. During the roughly 70-minute town hall, held at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, Trump badgered CNN moderator Kaitlan Collins and repeatedly sneered at her questions. He also parroted claims about a “rigged election” — which he believes resulted in his loss in 2020 — and blasted writer E. Jean Carroll, who recently scored a legal victory against Trump, as a “whack job.”

Such comments were met with applause and cheers from the crowd, made up primarily of his supporters and local Republicans.