New CNN boss Licht: Idea I want network to be centrist is ‘bulls—‘

Chris Licht, CNN’s newly minted top boss, is pushing back on speculation that he wants the network to be more centrist in its reporting.

“One of the biggest misconceptions about my vision is that I want to be vanilla, that I want to be centrist. That is bullshit,” Licht told the Financial Times this week. “You have to be compelling. You have to have edge. In many cases you take a side. Sometimes you just point out uncomfortable questions. But either way you don’t see it through a lens of left or right.”

Since taking over as head of CNN this summer, Licht has implemented a number of personnel and programming changes that have sparked buzz internally and externally about the editorial direction of the network under his leadership.

Among Licht’s first moves was the ouster of pundits and anchors like Brian Stelter and John Harwood, both of whom had become known for their sharp criticism of former president Trump and other conservative figures.

Under former network president Jeff Zucker, coverage of Trump and the various scandals that surrounded his presidency on CNN was heavy, and top hosts, especially in prime time, spent hours lambasting the former president and his allies.

“We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers,” Licht wrote in one of his earliest memos to CNN staffers this summer. “You’ve already seen far less of the “Breaking News” banner across our programming. The tenor of our voice holistically has to reflect that.”  

Just this week, Licht announced the departure of Michael Bass, a top programming executive at the network for years.

Licht has said there are lessons for CNN and other leading news organizations to learn about how to cover Trump, who is running for president in 2024, at a time of increased partisanship in media and sluggish ratings across the cable news business, but particularly for CNN.

“I don’t, do not, want someone who’s producing an hour of television on CNN saying, ‘You know what? I could lead with this or I could lead with that. I’m going to lead with that because it’ll get a better number.’ I want people leading and stacking their shows in a way based on journalism and what’s important,” Licht said during a separate interview with the journalist Kara Swisher last week. “Let me worry about the ratings. Chase stories, not ratings.”