Upon taking control of CNN in 2022, David Zaslav, the head of Warner Bros. Discovery, declared his intention to move the cable news network away from what he viewed as left-leaning “advocacy” and toward more “balance.” Mr. Zaslav’s vision for CNN was that it would not be anti-Trump and would be more welcoming of Republicans. However, after his hand-picked CNN leader, Chris Licht, struggled to implement this strategy, Mr. Zaslav eventually gave him the ultimatum: “Ratings be damned.” Despite this, Mr. Licht’s tenure lasted barely over a year and ended with Mr. Zaslav abruptly dismissing him. This has led to the question of whether an unaligned independent news approach can still succeed in the current splintered, on-demand media era, particularly in the highly niche precincts of cable.
Mr. Licht’s attempt to satisfy Mr. Zaslav’s objectives for CNN failed, but it is not clear whether the negativity surrounding his tenure stemmed from the shape of his assignment, his own missteps, or his incomplete understanding of the network as it existed prior to his arrival. Nevertheless, Mr. Licht’s failed mission highlighted how challenging it is to find success in today’s polarized environment where Americans occupy dueling informational silos and prefer news on their own terms. Furthermore, cable’s divided interests are now competing with social media, where the most successful items tend to be those that are the most stridently partisan and provocative.
Creating a media version of a shared public square is a tough prospect without a clear conception of what it means to be “balanced” or give equal say to “both voices.” This hurdle is particularly challenging in light of former President Donald J. Trump’s sustained false claim that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him.
Some current and former CNN staff members believe that Mr. Licht and Mr. Zaslav were lacking a clear notion of what “balanced” news meant when they defined the direction of the network by specifying what they did not want rather than what they did want. A significant distrust among CNN staff members arose from an early mistake by the network’s leadership, which diluted its credibility with the CNN staff even before the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia, CNN’s corporate parent, was completed. In November 2021, a board member of Warner Bros. Discovery and cable television pioneer, John Malone, appeared to denigrate CNN and praise Fox News while discussing his hopes for CNN under the new corporate structure. This statement came as an insult to CNN’s distinguished journalists.
Mr. Licht’s approach to making CNN appear balanced and fair did not work out in his favor. Although some staff members had agreed with his idea that the network should play it straight, the notion of including Republicans in its programming was not at all novel to the network. Mr. Licht and others viewed new leadership as “punching at a straw man.”
Mr. Licht’s handling of the town hall with Mr. Trump, including the decision to stage it before a pro-Trump audience, led to CNN’s worst ratings week in eight years. Even now, Mr. Zaslav is unwavering in his strategy, stating that “ratings be damned.” However, no TV strategy has managed to survive constant ratings damnation.
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