Chris Licht, the new CNN CEO and chairman, did not do much to help settle the worries of the highly partisan employees of the extremely far-Left network this past week after the cancelation of “Reliable Sources,” previously a Brian Stetler show.
Licht started to test and look over the network’s hyper-partisan so-called “talent” shortly after he stepped in to take over at CNN as he took steps to try and tone down the extreme partisanship that has hounded the network over the past few years.
“I want to acknowledge that this is a time of significant change, and I know that many of you are unsettled,” stated Licht, as reported by quite a few different people who attended an editorial meeting call held on Friday. “There will be more changes, and you might not understand it or like it.”
One staffer for CNN stated to Deadline, “No one is safe or secure right now.”
“I think people are legitimately sad that Brian is leaving,” one anonymous person at the outlet claimed to reporters with the Hollywood Reporter. “He was a big presence at the network — but understand that Chris has to put his stamp on the network.”
Deadline reported that John Malone, a billionaire investor who is known to be one of the single largest investors in CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, stated earlier in the year as part of an interview that he wanted CNN to “evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists.”
Stelter complained via his newsletter at the time that Malone sought unbiased reporting at the outlet “stoked fears that Discovery might stifle CNN journalists and steer away from calling out indecency and injustice.”
On company insider stated to Deadline that the choice to fire Stelter was “coming from above,” going on to say, “If this isn’t coming from John Malone directly, it sure represents his thinking with lieutenants doing his bidding.”
The changes take place just after Licht stated to staffers at CNN over this summer that he understood that the network has gone through quite a few changes in a short period of time in the wake of Jeff Zucker being terminated from his role as leader of the company.
“You heard me say in my first town hall that I am going to make decisions slower than some would like,” Licht stated at that time. “I know this organization has been through tremendous change over the last four months, which is why I am approaching this process slowly and thoughtfully as we look at all parts of the operation. We will realign where it makes sense to best serve our people and the business.”
