New CNN Boss Wants Staff to Stop Calling Trump Claims ‘The Big Lie’ to Avoid Democratic Party ‘Branding’
Mediaite reported Thursday.Reason: The term adopts “branding” favored by the Democratic Party.Licht expressed a “preference” for the adjustment after someone on a Tuesday conference call with management and producers asked his opinion on Trump’s “Big Lie,” Mediaite said – adding that staffers “have taken it as a clear directive from the new boss” nonetheless.CNN and CNN staffers did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday.Mediaite said Licht encouraged producers to instead use “Trump election lie” or “election lies” in chyrons and elsewhere. CNN staff is expected to gather Thursday for its first town hall since Licht took over at the end of February.Mediaite spoke to one CNN staffer who said some staff were rankled by the perceived “Big Lie” directive, and speculated that it may be coming from a board member at newly merged parent company Warner Bros.