US network ” has fired its chief executive, Chris Licht, after a tumultuous year at the helm of television, culminating in the publication of a magazine profile and a growing perception that he had lost the trust of the public. network journalists.
First modification:
The change was announced at ‘s editorial briefing on Wednesday morning and came just two days after Licht said he would “fight like hell” to earn the trust of those around him.
David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discoverythe parent company of “,” named a four-person interim management team, telling the editorial meeting that it would conduct a thorough search for Licht’s replacement.
Licht had a mandate to try to make ” more palatable to both sides of the country’s political divide; Republicans grew increasingly wary of the network after repeated attacks by former President Donald Trump.
But some at the network saw Licht’s change mandate as a repudiation of his past work, and a live interview with Trump last month drew widespread criticism.
Reporters at did their jobs during the Trump era: they told the truth—that Trump’s actions broke laws and norms that endangered democracy.
For that, Licht fired on them, sending a horrible signal to others. Hopefully his firing of him will remedy that damage. https://t.co/nBdrKcM1j5
— Ian Bassin ?? (@ianbassin) June 7, 2023
Earlier in the year, Licht revamped the network’s morning show, but it was unsuccessful and led to the firing of veteran Don Lemon. Efforts to build a new primetime lineup moved slowly, with Kaitlan Collins recently named to fill the hour of the prime time without a permanent host since Chris Cuomo was fired in December 2021.
Licht, who had produced ‘MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’, the ‘CBS’ Morning News and the late night show by Stephen Colbert, was appointed by Zaslav a little over a year ago to replace an internally popular predecessor, Jeff Zucker. Zucker was fired for failing to disclose a consensual relationship with a fellow ” executive.
Zaslav told staffers in a memo that the job was “never going to be easy, especially at a time of great disruption and transformation.”
“Chris gave himself body and soul,” he said. “He has a deep love for journalism and this business and that has been evident throughout his tenure. Unfortunately, things have not turned out as we hoped and ultimately that is my fault.”
Licht did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
A lengthy profile of Licht published Friday in ‘Atlantic’ magazine, headlined ‘Inside the Meltdown at ‘ it proved embarrassing and probably sealed his fate. Some journalists were angered by Licht’s criticism of some of the ” coverage prior to his arrival.
Some of the network’s top anchors – Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper and Erin Burnett – had privately expressed reservations about Licht’s leadership, according to a Wall Street Journal article published Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, the spectators disappeared. ”s 494,000 prime-time viewers in May were down 16% from April and were less than half that of its closest rival, ‘MSNBC.’
Zaslav named four current executives – Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling and David Leavy – to run the network while a replacement is sought.
“We are in good hands, which allows us to take the time necessary to carry out a thoughtful and exhaustive search for a new leader,” Zaslav said in the note.
*With PA; adapted from its original in English
