Chris Licht: Celebs Rumors

exited his position of CEO at CNN on Wednesday morning and, for many online, it was no big surprise. A fairly large swath of folks on Twitter actually dubbed it “karma” for Licht’s firing of CNN anchor Don Lemon.Licht’s one-year tenure as CEO and Chairman of CNN Worldwide was turbulent from start to finish, with a disastrous Donald Trump town hall and an unflattering profile in The Atlantic finally breaking staff morale.

the ousting of his handpicked CNN CEO Chris Licht in an internal memo to employees on Wednesday.“I have known Chris for many years and have enormous respect for him, personally and professionally. This job was never going to be easy, especially at a time of great disruption and transformation, and Chris poured his heart and soul into it,” Zaslav wrote.

Fox News Digital in a Wednesday report that posted just a couple of hours before Warner Bros. Discovery brass announced the ouster of CEO Chris Licht. David Zaslav handpicked Licht last April to replace Jeff Zucker, the successful but divisive longtime CNN leader ousted after disclosing an affair with one of his direct reports.

Chris Licht will be leaving CNN after just one year as chief executive and chairman.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN CEO Chris Licht will leave his post after a little more than a year at the helm after losing the support of staff and enacting a series of chaotic editorial changes under the direction of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. David Zalsalv, CEO of the embattled news outlet, told staffers Wednesday of the decision during CNN’s reglar editorial call, according to two people familiar with the matter. Amy Entelis, a longtime CNN executive who worked with previous chief Jeff Zucker and helps manage talent relations; Virginia Moseley, recenlty named to oversee editorial operations; and Eric Sherling, recently appointed head of U.S. programming, will oversee CNN for an interim period, Zaslav said. David Leavy, a longtime Zaslav lieutenant who was named chief operating officer at CNN last week, will oversee business activities.

Donald Trump town hall in May was met with widespread criticism. Cooper’s vigorous defense of the networks decision drew even more backlash.

The New York Times.“I gave them a gun, and they shot me with it,” Zucker said, according to those sources.Zucker’s abrupt resignation in February 2022 put a spotlight on Gollust, his longtime lieutenant and the network’s chief marketing officer. Gollust, who had worked with Zucker for decades and rejoined CNN in 2013 as his “closest colleague,” had been identified as the woman with whom he had a “consensual relationship,” which he didn’t disclose to CNN owner at the time, AT&T, in apparent violation of company policies.Gollust resigned two weeks after Zucker’s ouster and following a WarnerMedia investigation into Chris Cuomo and his efforts to help his brother, former New York Gov.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN chief Chris Licht told staffers Monday he wants to help them make the news rather than being a central figure in it. In the wake of a devastating profile of the CNN CEO published Friday by The Atlantic, Licht set about soothing frayed nerves Monday by telling employees on the news outlet’s regular morning call that “I should not be in the news unless it’s taking arrows for you. Your work is what should be written about,” according to two people familiar with the matter, The words are the first from Licht to be made public since the piece was unveiled. Thanks to a rich vein of unfettered access provided over months, the piece detailed the executive’s struggles — and some of his insecurities — during his first year on the job at the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed news outlet. David Zaslav, the CEO of the parent company, has articulated a strategy of eliminating some of the activist bent that resounded at CNN under its previous chief, Jeff Zucker. But Licht’s efforts to do so have been plagued by near-constant leaks and a restive staff, many of whom remain loyal to Licht’s predecessor, ousted after he admitted to a longstanding relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s former chief marketing officer.

Joe Scarborough and Donny Deutsch mocked conservatives for running the “woke” hysteria into the ground.Ron DeSantis and other Republicans have screeched about the so-called “woke agenda,” which they warn will undermine American values and put children at risk from all manner of threats, but the “Morning Joe” host said most voters simply don’t care about that manufactured issue.“Joe Biden, 350 pieces of bipartisan legislation signed, and Ron DeSantis and everybody else is talking ‘woke, woke, woke, woke, woke,'” Scarborough said. “Again, something that I said on this show and I heard a lot about from liberals, even, in 2021.

CNN on Thursday named longtime Discovery Inc. executive David C.

David Leavy, a top executive at Warner Bros. Discovery, as been named COO of CNN Worldwide.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor David Leavy, a longtime confidant of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, was named chief operating officer of CNN Thursday, in a move that May free up CEO Chris Licht to focus on news programming, but could add a new level of scrutiny to the activities of the news giant within its corporate parent’s portfolio.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN keeps feeding the mouths that bite it. As Warner Bros. Discovery has orchestrated massive changes and cuts to the popular news giant, a stream of producers, anchors and executives have left — some of their own volition, and many of them not. But no matter the case, a growing number of these now-former CNN die-hards are being scooped up by rivals including MSNBC, ABC News and CBS News. CBS News on Wednesday announced it had lined up Lisa Ling as a contributor. The veteran journalist spent eight years at CNN leading viewers through interesting issues as host of the documentary series, This Is Life,” which was cancelled amid a cutback of original programming that uses outside partners. ABC News on Wednesday announced that Brooke Bower, who had been managing editor of CNN Politics, was joining as executive producer of the Sunday politics show “This Week.”

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN will shift the bulk of its operations behind its Spanish-language efforts to Mexico City, scaling back production of content for linear television in favor of work aimed at reaching a younger audience that favors mobile video. The move is likely to mean the elimination of jobs in Miami and Atlanta, but will also result in a ramp-up of jobs in Mexico and Los Angeles, where CNN will aim to add more than staffers, according to a person familiar with the plans, which were disclosed to employees Thursday afternoon. CNN CEO Chris Licht had nodded to the future of the Spanish-language network in November at a town-hall meeting. At issue is how to maintain outreach to Spanish-speaking viewers at a time when the economics of big media companies are under intense scrutiny. CNN and its corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, have already cut operations, but the question of how to keep CNN en Espanol under such conditions has been under debate for some time. In the past, discussions had been underway to shut down the cable network, which has only limited distribution of around nine million in the United States.

the report continued. “MSNBC more than doubled CNN’s daily audience, drawing 976,000 total viewers, while Fox News averaged 1.4 million.” (Fox News, meanwhile, was down 24% in total viewers year to year, a ratings plummet itself credited to the unceremonious ouster of Tucker Carlson.)“It’s a true existential crisis,” Kelly said of CNN’s cratering ratings. “This is why Jeff Zucker was the grim reaper of CNN.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said CNN is rebuilding itself to be a news network that presents “both sides” of every issue rather than an “advocacy network” — comments coming as CNN continues to face a backlash over the town hall with Donald Trump last week. Zaslav, speaking at the MoffettNathanson Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in New York, said that previously the overall impression of CNN’s brand was “left-leaning.” That’s now changing, he said, citing a new YouGov poll finding an 11-point improvement in U.S. viewers’ trust in CNN. “Our view is, there’s advocacy networks on either side. We have the best journalists in the world. We need to show both sides of every issue,” he said.

“Republicans are back on the air. Republicans weren’t on the air,” on CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told a media conference Thursday as he said the storied brand is moving to become less of an “advocacy network” under new leadership.

Naman Ramachandran Christiane Amanpour has spoken out against Donald Trump’s recent CNN town hall, where he described moderator Kaitlan Collins as a “nasty person.” “We know Trump and his tendencies, everyone does, he just seizes the stage and dominates. No matter how much flack the moderator tries to aim at the incoming, it doesn’t often work. I would have dropped the mic at ‘nasty person,’ but then that’s me,” Amanpour said on Wednesday to the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Amanpour was accepting the Columbia Journalism Award and delivering the school’s commencement speech. Amanpour, who is CNN’s chief international anchor, said she had met with CNN chair and CEO Chris Licht earlier this week and they “had a very robust exchange of views” about the town hall. Licht “welcomed” the exchange but stood by his decision to hold the event, according to Amanpour.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery kicked off its 2023 upfront presentation in a no-frills way, with an overall brand sizzle and ad chief Jon Steinlauf giving a few remarks on stage at the Theater at Madison Square Garden Wednesday. While the presentation covering HBO, Max, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, Discovery and more Warner Bros. Discovery brands was shorter than last year’s show (which was the company’s first since the merger that created it last April) the tight 90-minute presentation still covered each of its key divisions. Albeit, with much less sizzle, with no stars in attendance amid the writers strike. “Let me just start by saying I am hopeful that a fair resolution is found soon with the writers,” HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys said, adding that he hopes for a return of talent to the stage, “making this a far more entertaining show” compared to “me and my clips.”

founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck, tweeted that Darcy and his editor had been “summoned” to a meeting with Licht and “top executives in which they told him that his coverage of Trump town hall had been too emotional and stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate.”SCOOP @PuckNews: CNN's Chris Licht summoned @OliverDarcy and his editor to a meeting with himself and top executives in which they told him that his coverage of Trump town hall had been too emotional and stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate: https://t.co/R0dgcOmgGaStrongly contradicting his own network’s full-throated defense of the event, Darcy slammed the town hall as a “spectacle of lies” that, he implied, did harm to the country.“It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening,” Darcy said in an installment of his Reliable Sources newsletter, which came just 15 minutes after CNN released a statement essentially bragging about the event.“Trump lied about the 2020 election. He took no responsibility for the January 6 insurrection that those very lies incited.

According to The Guardian, Trump saw the night as a success. And he wasn’t the only one, of course.

CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump beat the cable news competition, as expected, with an average of 3.12 million viewers, according to early Nielsen numbers.

Donald Trump‘s town hall on Wednesday, as he defended his decision to showcase Trump while on a call to CNN staff Thursday morning.“I absolutely unequivocally believe America was served very well by what we did last night,” Licht said on the call, per Semafor media reporter Max Tani.Licht also said that he was “aware” that there have been “opinions and backlash” to the event but “there is so much that we learned last night of what another Trump presidency looked like.” “While we all may have been uncomfortable hearing people clapping, that was also an important part of the story because the people in that audience represent a large swath of America,” Licht said on the call. The CEO also said that the “mistake” media made in the past was “ignoring that those people exist just like you cannot ignore that President Trump exists.”On a call this morning with CNN staff, network CEO Chris Licht says he is “aware that there has been people with opinions and backlash,” but that "there is so much that we learned last night of what another Trump presidency looked like.”CNN did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.On Wednesday, former president Donald Trump took the stage at St.

After moderating CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump, Kaitlan Collins is expected to be tapped as the new host of the network’s 9 p.m. hour, which has lacked a permanent occupant for more than a year.

his Reliable Sources newsletter, which came just 15 minutes after CNN released a statement essentially bragging about the event.Darcy began with a description of Trump’s behavior and his interactions with the town hall’s moderator, Kaitlan Collins. Collins, Darcy said, was “tough and knowledgeble,” [sic] and “fact-checked Trump throughout.” The problem, Darcy argued, was that this was meaningless in response to someone like the disgraced former president.“A professional lie machine, Trump fired off falsehoods at a rapid clip,” Darcy wrote, “while using his bluster to overwhelm Collins, stealing command of the stage at some points of the town hall.”“Trump lied about the 2020 election.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Kaitlan Collins spent Wednesday night going toe to toe on live TV with a former President who refused to acknowledge her fact-checking of his many conspiracy theories and untruths. And that just may be a warm up. Collins, the CNN up-and-comer who has gone from White House correspondent to morning anchor all before turning 35, is widely expected to be given new anchoring duties at 9 p.m., according to two people familiar with the matter. The hour is one of the most competitive on the cable-news schedule and has served as a home to some of the most popular hosts in the format, including Rachel Maddow, Sean Hannity and Chris Cuomo. CNN declined to make executives available for comment. Puck previously reported the looming deal, which could be unveiled in days to come — barring unforeseen changes, or a pivot in the strategic thinking of CNN CEO Chris Licht, one of these people cautioned.

according to a Wednesday report in Puck News. The 31-year-old former White House correspondent, who held that position at the Tucker Carlson-founded Daily Caller shortly after graduating the University of Alabama, would certainly further the centering shift already in process at the direction of CEO Chris Licht, who recently promoted Collins to the network’s new morning show.With Licht’s tenure hitting just over a year following the Warner Bros.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav weighed in on CNN’s controversial decision to host a live town-hall format Q&A with former President Donald Trump — defending the decision as needing to represent “both sides.” “The U.S. has a divided government. We need to hear both voices,” Zaslav said, speaking Friday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” when asked about Trump’s scheduled May 10 appearance on CNN. “Republicans are on the air on CNN, Democrats are on the air… When we do politics, we need to represent both sides. I think it’s important for America.” Zaslav continued about Trump, “He’s the front-runner — he has to be on our network. We’re happy he’s coming on there.”

Donald Trump will make his first appearance on CNN in many years next week, when he appears in a town hall event sponsored by the network.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Washington journalism veteran Dana Bash will take over CNN’s weekday broadcast of “Inside Politics,” giving the network mainstay her first weekday anchoring assignment in nearly three decades at the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed network. Bash will take over the program from John King, whose facility with a digital technology known as CNN’s “Magic Wall” that is used heavily during election coverage has expanded his overall profile. King will lead a new reporting project focused on voters in key battleground states as the 2024 presidential campaign cycle gets underway. Bash will continue as co-anchor of the Sunday political talk program “State of the Union,” along with Jake Tapper. King is expected to continue to play a significant role in CNN’s coverage of elections.

Don Lemon isn’t letting his unexpected termination from CNN keep him down. The longtime TV newsman is looking on the bright side and planning for his upcoming summer.

Don Lemon isn't letting his unexpected termination from CNN keep him down. The longtime TV newsman is looking on the bright side and planning for his upcoming summer.Lemon walked the carpet at the TIME 100 Gala in New York City on Wednesday — where he was joined by his fiancé, Tim Malone — and he spoke with ET's Rachel Smith about parting ways with the network.«I'm doing well, and I'm here to celebrate… I'm happy to be here,» Lemon said, smiling.

in a joint statement with National Urban League president and CEO Marc Morial that Lemon’s comment that there were larger forces behind the move should be further parsed by the network.“We are completely stunned at the termination of Don Lemon,” the statement said. “Throughout his career, Don has been a superb journalist who was very open to the civil rights community on issues others wouldn’t touch,” the statement reads.

Don Lemon opted for a little retail therapy following his ouster from CNN. The 57-year-old was spotted at an Apple Store in New York City on Monday shortly after news broke that the network where he spent nearly two decades abruptly fired him.Lemon was seen wearing jeans, a black sweater over a white T-shirt, shades and a hat while holding two iPhones.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter WME has hired Carly Frankel as an agent in the digital department and Samantha Korn as an agent in the talent department focused on comedy, Variety has learned exclusively. Frankel will focus on the agency’s podcasting business, including the comedy, personal development, and narrative nonfiction verticals. Prior to joining WME, she was senior development executive at Wondery, having originally joined the company in 2019. In that role, she worked across creative and business development to identify original podcast concepts and to bring them to production. She was previously at Wondery where she most recently served as a senior development executive, working across creative and business development to both identify hit original podcast concepts and bring them to production. Following Wondery’s acquisition by Amazon Music in 2021, Frankel was instrumental in designing the company’s consolidated greenlight and deal protocols for original programming. She is based in WME’S Beverly Hills office.Korn comes from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where she most recently served as a creative executive for Colbert’s production company, Spartina. Prior to that, she started her professional career at CAA and went to “The Late Show” to work for then-executive producer and showrunner Chris Licht. In addition to “The Late Show” and its associated specials, her credits include “Pickled” for CBS and “Tooning Out the News” for Paramount+. She is also based in the Beverly Hills office.

After Don Lemon‘s abrupt exit from CNN, his CNN This Morning cohosts addressed his absence head-on during the Tuesday, April 25, episode of the show.