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Why Chris Licht Lost the Plot (and His Job) at CNN
The center won’t hold our attention.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of reading Tim Alberta’s tour-de-force takedown of CNN’s then-CEO Chris Licht, well, do yourself a favor: draw up a cognac, settle into your coziest chair, and immerse yourself. There’s nothing quite like an hour-long story chronicling self-immolation. That essay in The Atlantic doubled as a kill shot—how could it not?—and Warner Bros Discovery’s top brass axed Licht five days after it was published.
Licht’s wielded his septfecta of deadly sins — lust, greed, gluttony, sloth, wrath, envy, and especially pride all show their faces — under the banner of a false premise: that if you can just make “bipartisan” “objective truth” compelling enough on a 24-hour news network, people will watch, in an era of YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok. Over and over, Licht tinkered with tone, talent, and format to appeal to all demographics. In the end, CNN appealed to none — alienating core viewership and tarnishing their brand. The road back will be a rough one, and frankly, it’s unclear whether that’s the road worth traveling.
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