Embattled CNN CEO Chris Licht has stepped down
Warner Bros. Discovery
- CNN CEO Chris Licht will step down, the company said Wednesday.
- Licht has faced criticism from inside and outside the company on his leadership.
- He was the subject of a disastrous Atlantic profile published Friday.
Embattled CNN CEO Chris Licht will step down, effective immediately, the company announced Wednesday. Puck's Dylan Byers first broke the news.
Warner Bros. Discovery will undertake an "active search" for a replacement for the CEO. WBD said the interim leadership team on the content side will be Amy Entelis (EVP of talent and content development), Virginia Moseley (EVP of editorial), Eric Sherling (EVP of US programming). COO David Leavy, who WBD CEO David Zaslav installed last week to run the business side of CNN, will continue to do so.
Licht has been under fire both inside and outside the company for his decision-making, especially in the aftermath of a brutal Atlantic profile of his leadership that was published Friday. One media heavyweight likened reading the profile to watching a "snuff film."
CNN's own media reporter, Oliver Darcy, wrote on Monday that Licht had "lost the room," despite his efforts to assure staffers on Monday that he would "fight like hell" to win their trust.
"You deserve a leader who will be in the trenches, fighting to ensure CNN remains the world's most trusted name in news," Licht told staff Monday, according to reporting from former CNN reporter Brian Stelter.
But it seems it was too little too late from Licht.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that top CNN talent including Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper, and Erin Burnett had criticized Licht to Leavy.
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