Just over a year after he took the reins at CNN, Christ Licht is out at the network. Licht stepped down as chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide Wednesday, following a growing tide of controversy following the network’s live town hall with Donald Trump and an unflattering 15,000-word profile in The Atlantic.
“I have great respect for Chris, personally and professionally,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery. “The job of leading CNN was never going to be easy, especially at a time of huge disruption and transformation, and he has poured his heart and soul into it. While we know we have work to do as we look to identify a new leader, we have absolute confidence in the team we have in place and will continue to fight for CNN and its world class journalism.”
Prior to taking control at CNN, Licht was vice president of programming for CBS News and executive producer of the network’s morning news program, “CBS This Morning,” which he helped launch in 2012. He was also the co-creator and original executive producer of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”