The future of CNN hangs in the balance as a major transition takes effect and a new leader settles in to find his place. Chris Licht was hired earlier this year following the sudden resignation of President Jeff Zucker.
Licht is reportedly getting a feel for the talent, the producers, and the direction of the network as we head into the midterms and face the prospect of, yet another Donald Trump run for the White House.
According to CNBC, Licht seeks to empower executive producers to make decisions that otherwise were controlled by CNN’s former boss. He prefers employees to hear marching orders from direct managers rather than him.
The network is still reeling from the collapse of the streaming service CNN+. The rapid demise of what was supposed to be the future of the business cost hundreds of employees their jobs and left others to reapply for different positions in the company.
“I love the control room, and I love the feeling of sending a text and seeing it show up on screen 10 minutes later, but there’s so much happening that we’ll be paralyzed if everyone is waiting to hear from me,” Licht told CNBC. “That’s just not how I operate.”
