CNN CEO Chris Licht is stepping down from his position at the cable network after just over a year on the job.
Licht, who started his position in May 2022, has been embroiled in criticism internally and externally as he attempted to win back trust in the media organization by repositioning the network.
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“I have great respect for Chris, personally and professionally,” David Zaslav, president and CEO of CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a 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. 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,” he added.
Warner Bros. Discovery did not announce a full-time replacement for Licht but said that it has a “strong interim leadership team” to lead the cable network in the meantime.
Earlier Wednesday morning, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy confirmed Licht was out after various reports suggested the CNN boss had stepped down.
Bulletin: Chris Licht is out at CNN.
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) June 7, 2023
Licht has been under increased criticism from CNN hosts with recent programming decisions, including hosting former President Donald Trump for a town hall on the network in May. Before the town hall, Trump had not appeared on the network since the 2016 presidential election.
CNN host Anderson Cooper said viewers had “every right to be outraged” about the network hosting Trump, but Licht defended the programming decision to CNN staff by saying that “America was served very well by what we did last night,” per the New York Times.
Licht was also the subject of a lengthy piece in the Atlantic last week titled “Inside the meltdown at CNN,” which detailed Licht’s tenure with the network with interviews from the CEO over several months. The Wall Street Journal reported Licht apologized to CNN staff earlier this week for being the subject of headlines with the Atlantic story.
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“I know these past few days have been very hard for this group. And I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it have overshadowed the incredible week of reporting we just had and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this organization. And for that, I’m sorry,” Licht said, per the outlet.
Licht had replaced Jeff Zucker, who was ousted from the network after it surfaced that he engaged in a romantic relationship with another CNN executive.
