Can Chris Licht Turn CNN Around?
Chris Licht faces an uphill battle at CNN. He got the CEO gig in the midst of a prickly merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery and right after the shocking exit of beloved long-time boss, Jeff Zucker. In his first six months, he\u2019s shut down CNN+, ousted Brian Stelter, and shuffled anchors around, including Don Lemon and Jake Tapper. This week, the network chief held an internal town hall meeting where he faced a staff of thousands and discussed upcoming layoffs. Shortly afterwards, he sat down with Kara \u2014 who grilled him, of course.\xa0\nShe asks Licht whether he has any real actual power or if he\u2019s simply executing orders from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav \u2014 who is in search of cuts, as the company stares down the barrel at $50 billion in debt \u2014 and billionaire board member, John Malone, who has said he\u2019d like to see more \u201ccentrist\u201d programming from CNN. They discuss Licht\u2019s vision for the newsroom, his plan to build trust with journalists who fear losing jobs, and how CNN will cover Donald Trump during the 2024 election.\xa0\xa0\nBefore the interview, Kara and Nayeema discuss the challenges facing journalism in an era of disinformation. Stay tuned for Kara\u2019s closing rant on \u201ccitizen journalism\u201d and Elon\u2019s latest broadside against the press.\nYou can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices