Chris Licht is leaving his position with CBS as the showrunner of “The Late Show” to become the new President of CNN.
During Monday’s broadcast, Stephen Colbert took some time to pay tribute to the outgoing Licht. Licht has been the runner for the late-night show since 2016, and despite his departure, Colbert couldn’t be happier for his soon-to-be former boss.
“I trained the next president of CNN, so I believe legally CNN now stands for the Colbert News Network,” Colbert joked.
Licht is leaving “The Late Show” and jumping to CNN in May. The comedian frequently lauded his leadership, praising Licht’s “tenacity in the face of opposition” while also sharing some light-hearted stories on the new CNN president.
“Here’s the thing. There are bosses, and then there are leaders,” Colbert said. “Bosses tell you what to do. Leaders work as hard as you do to do what needs to be done. And that’s what you did. And that is why he earned the respect of all of us here who live in the clown car.”
“We showed him what we really wanted to do, which is the show that we do now, and he immediately started creating the lines of communication, the lanes of responsibility, and the respectful workplace that makes creative ambition at this speed possible, and I’m happy that CNN will now benefit from all of his wisdom.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
