Chris Licht is dead to me
John Thompson 
…says every CNN employees. ¡Adios!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 178 | June 10, 2023 7:21 AM |
THE TRUMP CURSE HAS STRUCK AGAIN!!!
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | June 7, 2023 1:58 PM |
Chris, we hardly knew ye.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | June 7, 2023 2:02 PM |
What does this mean for my Andy C?
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | June 7, 2023 2:07 PM |
He lasted a month longer than I expected.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | June 7, 2023 2:13 PM |
Amy Entelis allegedly taking over as interim. She is 72? Looking damn good, unless I look at 10 year old pictures.
But poor gal is supposed to improve staff morale? How can she possibly tell folks that everything will be OK if she is a goner soon and doesn't really have a say in the future of CNN?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 6 | June 7, 2023 2:14 PM |
She’s not so beloved among staff…she’s an annoyance. And a temporary figurehead.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | June 7, 2023 2:16 PM |
Chris got the boot he deserved. Fuck him.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | June 7, 2023 2:17 PM |
The end of cnn, how many more "reinventions" will they have ? I am guessing three more.
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | June 7, 2023 2:24 PM |
Is Licht fucking Kaitlyn Collins?
If he is, he's old enough to know to never get your meat the same place you get your bread and butter.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | June 7, 2023 2:28 PM |
Everything Trump touches dies.
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | June 7, 2023 2:34 PM |
Not surprised. It’s just too bad Zaslav and all of the other Discovery clowns who are running the company into the ground aren’t going with him.
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | June 7, 2023 2:35 PM |
[quote]Chris got the boot he deserved.
What's his golden parachute?
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | June 7, 2023 2:37 PM |
Meanwhile, in the Hamptons...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 16 | June 7, 2023 2:41 PM |
Is the new CEO a gay man?
Sure hope so. I'll flex these guns, maybe give him a peak at my big slab, and bang, I'll be back in prime time before ya know it!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 17 | June 7, 2023 2:46 PM |
Someone should have snatched his toupee on the way out.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | June 7, 2023 2:58 PM |
Well, whoever our new corporate overlord is, I'll be sure to service them without any discernment, as I always do. I'm a very well behaved little quisling!
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | June 7, 2023 3:00 PM |
They announced it on air.
Get a load of how she says, “Chief...operating...officer."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 20 | June 7, 2023 3:01 PM |
They announced it on air.
Get a load of how she says, “Chief...operating...officer."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 21 | June 7, 2023 3:02 PM |
Where have you gone Bobbie Battista?
| by Anonymous | reply 23 | June 7, 2023 3:03 PM |
We don't need CNN. We don't need Fox. We don't need news 24/7. We need to get off our collective asses and do something to better ourselves and the world around us.
| by Anonymous | reply 25 | June 7, 2023 3:09 PM |
[quote]Is Licht fucking Kaitlyn Collins?
I hope it's true and she is shown the door along with him. Just watched a few minutes of her show last night and she is totally devoid of human emotion or communication ability. They should have just put a robot on the air.
| by Anonymous | reply 26 | June 7, 2023 3:27 PM |
OP stop doing this. You are jinxing peoples lives. You had people thinking Taylor Swift died.
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | June 7, 2023 3:29 PM |
That sonic boom heard all over the world this morning was from the champagne bottles popping simultaneously in Don Lemon's backyard in the Hamptons.
Nothing to worry about. It was a joyous occasion, not an attack from outer space.
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | June 7, 2023 3:29 PM |
R26, She is definitely not a television personality.
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | June 7, 2023 3:37 PM |
CNN really should have adopted the NBC News Now model. I like it very much.
| by Anonymous | reply 30 | June 7, 2023 3:38 PM |
CNN has been circling the drain way before this clown .
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | June 7, 2023 3:41 PM |
I kinda feel bad for him though. To me it reads like he was the victim of his own hubris. I am seeing him having a fun job at Colbert's show when Zaslav was looking for a minion do his dirty work at CNN. Zaslav tells Licht that he is the shit, and Licht believes it because who wouldn't easily agree with flattering.
But yeah, I don't think he was a good fit. In that Atlantic expose what surprised me most was that Licht did not engage with staff at all. You would think that's the first and most important thing to do when new leadership comes aboard. You engage, you ask questions, you explain your vision. None of that seems to have happened. Instead, you read about how much effort he put into secluding himself from staff. I could say, Licht wasn't experienced as CEO. But those are things he should have known from his previous gigs already. I am really puzzled about this.
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | June 7, 2023 3:56 PM |
What R12 says. One-hundred percent.
| by Anonymous | reply 34 | June 7, 2023 4:02 PM |
His vision was moving CNN to the right to please his board. The next person won't be any better.
I recommend NBC Now.
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | June 7, 2023 4:04 PM |
That's what they get for hiring someone incompetent to run a news network. Now they should get rid of the fools who made the decision to hire him in the first place.
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | June 7, 2023 4:06 PM |
What's good about NBC Now, R35? Never heard of it before.
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | June 7, 2023 4:06 PM |
Stephen Colbert warned him about taking the CNN job.
| by Anonymous | reply 38 | June 7, 2023 4:11 PM |
[quote] She’s not so beloved among staff…she’s an annoyance. And a temporary figurehead.
Yeah, she's a tough character. She's just a placeholder.
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | June 7, 2023 4:49 PM |
R37, NBC News Now is the free live streaming service from NBC. It is largely news focused, with some of the same “talking heads” that cycle through MSNBC or NBC, just way less often. They are developing a decent anchor line-up too.
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | June 7, 2023 4:52 PM |
The town hall was one of the worst moments in the channel's history, if not TV history. Not surprised it led to some heads rolling.
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | June 7, 2023 5:00 PM |
R40 Why would NBC have both NBC Now and MSNBC? I think I've lost the thread on modern news.
| by Anonymous | reply 42 | June 7, 2023 5:05 PM |
The Trump years were disastrous for CNN because they lost their degree of professionalism, and Chris Cuomo went berserk, defending his brother's policies on the air and engaging in that ridiculous fake bromance with Don Lemon. But Licht overcorrected--the Trump town hall was a travesty.
They need real professionals back in charge. The network has been a disaster since Ted Turner left
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | June 7, 2023 5:07 PM |
Can we save the "dead to me" thread titles for actual deaths, not for CEOs losing their jobs or Taylor Swift ending yet another shitty relationship?
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | June 7, 2023 5:15 PM |
CNN+ collapsed in 3 weeks.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | June 7, 2023 5:16 PM |
Does this mean the rest of my town halls are canceled?
| by Anonymous | reply 47 | June 7, 2023 5:19 PM |
#ETTD. Everything Trump touches dies
| by Anonymous | reply 48 | June 7, 2023 5:20 PM |
Sorry, R46, just trying to preserve the DL traditions.
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | June 7, 2023 5:21 PM |
R49, no, you're not.
"Chris Licht's Career is dead to me" would work fine. NO, no one uses "dead to me" in the DL tradition unless it's about death.
| by Anonymous | reply 50 | June 7, 2023 5:25 PM |
NBC News Now is available on PlutoTV. CBS has one as well. I've watched a few minutes of both, and neither is memorable. Both have very unsteady anchors.
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | June 7, 2023 5:26 PM |
No one watches television news anymore. The only TV news program with decent (comparatively, and generously) ratings is 60 Minutes.
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | June 7, 2023 5:30 PM |
[quote]You would think that's the first and most important thing to do when new leadership comes aboard. You engage, you ask questions, you explain your vision. None of that seems to have happened. Instead, you read about how much effort he put into secluding himself from staff.
Nuh-Uh. No ma'am. That's that "new" management style and type of thinking. Think, EST, Oprah Winfrey, and yoga, when you're thinking that way. Even in this day and age you have many "C" level executives who believe that subordinates/underlings/or... "the little people" bring no type of value to management decisions and the management of a company. Why if they could then why would they still be subordinates and (in the case of CNN) 200th place in the ratings?
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | June 7, 2023 5:40 PM |
Joe Scarborough did, as well, r38. I'd like to know the reasons they gave him.
| by Anonymous | reply 57 | June 7, 2023 5:43 PM |
This is so delicious, it must be fattening.
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | June 7, 2023 5:44 PM |
[quote]CNN+ collapsed in 3 weeks.
Let's see if Licht's Gayle King-Charles Barkley show can beat that.
| by Anonymous | reply 59 | June 7, 2023 5:45 PM |
[quote]It is not clear if Licht resigned or was fired or if he will receive any exit package.
No exit package?
His wife is going to be PISSED!
| by Anonymous | reply 60 | June 7, 2023 5:47 PM |
Ha! Ha! HA! CNN is fucked anyway.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | June 7, 2023 5:53 PM |
Why are you cheering on the demise of a credible news channel, R61?
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | June 7, 2023 5:54 PM |
I haven't watched cable news for years. I so watch MSNBC highlights on YouTube.
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | June 7, 2023 5:56 PM |
[quote] I hope it's true and she is shown the door along with him. Just watched a few minutes of her show last night and she is totally devoid of human emotion or communication ability. They should have just put a robot on the air.
Are we sure that Collins is human and not a robot project unleashed to the public by the government? The robot project could explain why "Kaitlan" rose quickly in the journalism ranks.
| by Anonymous | reply 65 | June 7, 2023 6:23 PM |
Bet there will be a lot of drinking at the CNN bar.
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | June 7, 2023 6:26 PM |
Brian Stelter @brianstelter
From a friend who says what many alums think: "As a former CNNer, there is no joy in this. What an embarrassing end to a shameful chapter in this network's history. I and so many others lost our jobs for his non-existent vision, and there seems to be no clear end to this chaos."
| by Anonymous | reply 67 | June 7, 2023 7:10 PM |
R64 and everyone else, r61 is definitely MAGA.
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | June 7, 2023 7:14 PM |
Just shut up R68. I'm no Magat, but CNN, is certainly turning the corner.
| by Anonymous | reply 69 | June 7, 2023 7:25 PM |
Will champagne corks be popping this evening at Chez Lemon?
| by Anonymous | reply 70 | June 7, 2023 7:30 PM |
R69 would prefer CNN crashes because somehow she gets joy from seeing a credible news source crumble. Because she's a fucking idiot.
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | June 7, 2023 7:39 PM |
So, uh, is Tom leaving ATN for CNN and if so, um, I wonder if, uh, I can, you know, cum too?
| by Anonymous | reply 72 | June 7, 2023 7:41 PM |
WHOSE GOING TO KISS 💋 ALL THAT NEW FAT RIGHT WING ASS???
| by Anonymous | reply 73 | June 7, 2023 7:46 PM |
The “journalists” like the way things were and don’t want to be part of a honest news organization. Any successor will have learned the lesson that change requires clearing out everyone and bringing in new people.
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | June 7, 2023 7:51 PM |
Joe Scarborough @JoeNBC 5h (responding to Bardella · Grace. It is a wonderful thing.
And Kurt is right. Chris will be better for what he has learned through this painful process. We learn more from our failures than our victories. Any winner will tell you that.
Kurt Bardella @kurtbardella 5h
I’ve had so many ups-and-downs in my career that I’ve learned to never rejoice when someone fails and never count anyone out for long. My genuine hope is that when Chris Licht gets his next opportunity he learns from this experience, does better, and gets a chance to thrive. During the times that I was down, publicly roasted and being dunked on, I remember those who showed me grace and compassion. Even though I may not have deserved it, it was the small kindnesses that helped me get through the rough patches and move forward. I’ve never met Chris Licht or even had a conversation with him. By my count, he’s had more wins than losses in his career. It’s not over yet, not by a long shot. He’ll be back and he’ll be better next time than he was this time. That’s what I’ll be hoping for.
| by Anonymous | reply 76 | June 7, 2023 8:01 PM |
The patent company will regret not staying the course. You can’t let the inmates at the asylum dictate who the leader is.
| by Anonymous | reply 78 | June 7, 2023 8:14 PM |
May I please have my job back?
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | June 7, 2023 8:34 PM |
[quote]The parent company will regret not staying the course. You can’t let the inmates at the asylum dictate who the leader is.
I think it's more likely that they looked at the plunging ratings and made the decision off the basis of that.
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | June 7, 2023 8:39 PM |
It's the fucking right-wing idiot who hired Licht to begin with who needs to go.
| by Anonymous | reply 82 | June 7, 2023 8:45 PM |
R81, but surely they understood that the course they wanted to take, to make CNN more neutral, would cause a large initial reduction in ratings, wouldn’t they? I don’t see how it would be possible, or how the company leadership would think it was possible, to do otherwise. If you shift CNN away from the left, or reduce Trump mania, there absolutely will be reduction in ratings. A large chunk of its viewers only watch the channel to see their own views expressed and many will leave if that changes. The question then is how much faith does the company have in the theory that those viewers can be replaced with less hyper-partisan viewers? If think that could be done, then they should have kept going, or maybe they still will but with a different leader and a new tactic.
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | June 7, 2023 8:51 PM |
R76, that was very uplifting. Thanks for posting. I don't know Bardella, but I appreciate his way of looking at this story and offering moral support. Schadenfreude comes way too easily. This one is special.
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | June 7, 2023 8:55 PM |
CNN WAS neutral before him. I used to watch it during the day and they just reported news. Were they NOT supposed to report that what Trump was saying was bullshit?
And I don't feel the least bit sorry for Licht. He presided over a "town hall" where a sexual abuse victim was mocked and laughed at by her abuser and his asslickers and thought it was just great. I hope they kicked him out without a cent and he never finds another network job.
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | June 7, 2023 9:33 PM |
[quote] CNN WAS neutral before him. I used to watch it during the day and they just reported news. Were they NOT supposed to report that what Trump was saying was bullshit?
R85 EXACTLY. We're seriously fucked if people keep conflating truth-telling with a liberal bias. Facts are facts, full stop. Just because about a third of the country doesn't like those facts, and perceives their reporting as attacking them and their cause, does not make them any less factual. The Republican Party has been co-opted by a narcissistic megalomaniac cult leader. He has enablers in that party, including many elected officials in state and federal governments. He lost re-election fair and square, manufactured and continues to spread a Big Lie about his loss, and presided over an attempted overthrowing of his own government shortly before leaving office. These are all objective and credibly verifiable FACTS.
Just because the aristocracy of Zaslav, Malone, and their ilk don't like those facts -- and their whipping boy Licht failed to execute *THEIR* vision to dilute and "both-sides" the delivery of those facts -- doesn't change the FACT that they're FACTS.
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | June 7, 2023 9:43 PM |
Maybe I'm naïve, but if MSNBC has a left tilt and Fox has a right tilt and CNN tried middle of the road and it didn't work why not just get out of the opinion game altogether and do something different. How about straight news with subject matter experts and interviews with interested stakeholders, instead of opinion based political pundits. There is nothing in the rule book that says you have to give both sides of a story as it relates to the political implications. It would be much more interesting to hear the real world implications from the people that an issue will affect.
| by Anonymous | reply 87 | June 7, 2023 10:07 PM |
This is funny!
Don Lemon waking up to the Chris Licht news:
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 89 | June 7, 2023 10:18 PM |
R86 Exactly. "CNN's lack of neutrality" was very far from the national problem. CNN was the Charlie Brown of news organizations (and you can play any number of analogies from that).
| by Anonymous | reply 91 | June 7, 2023 10:27 PM |
The daytime shows are less pundit heavy than they were before.
| by Anonymous | reply 92 | June 7, 2023 10:34 PM |
R88 R91 Aww shucks. 🥰😘
| by Anonymous | reply 93 | June 7, 2023 10:47 PM |
TOLD YOU SO.
You said noooooooooo, no way Licht was toast he was going to do all this stuff at CNN but I fucking told you he was on the way out and it wasn't rocket science either.
Dummies.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | June 7, 2023 10:58 PM |
How are they going to get his tongue 👅 out of Trump’s ass?
| by Anonymous | reply 96 | June 7, 2023 11:01 PM |
[quote]Can we save the "dead to me" thread titles for actual deaths, not for CEOs losing their jobs or Taylor Swift ending yet another shitty relationship?
How about retiring this tiresome, sophomoric "tradition" altogether?
| by Anonymous | reply 97 | June 7, 2023 11:05 PM |
[QUOTE]How about straight news with subject matter experts and interviews with interested stakeholders, instead of opinion based political pundits.
I agree with you. But the network will still be regarded as "fake news" by MAGAts and Qs who have enormous contempt and enmity for intelligent, well-educated people whose conclusions based on empiricism differ from theirs. They simply mosey away to "do their own research" by wallowing in confirmation biases. There is no hope for them. Their envy is too corrosive for them to drop the scales from their eyes.
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | June 7, 2023 11:11 PM |
If people actually wanted unbiased, old-fashioned news they'd all be watching the Newshour on PBS. That broadcast, on every day, has exactly the kind of straightforward news people so often claim to be looking for but don't actually watch.
| by Anonymous | reply 99 | June 7, 2023 11:19 PM |
[quote] If people actually wanted unbiased, old-fashioned news they'd all be watching the Newshour on PBS.
LOL
| by Anonymous | reply 100 | June 7, 2023 11:23 PM |
[quote]How about straight news with subject matter experts and interviews with interested stakeholders, instead of opinion based political pundits.
The problem with CNN (IMHO) it is caught in the thought that news is entertainment rather than just reporting the news. It doesn't matter which way a network leans. I'm an MSNBC devotee but even with its left -wing tilt the reporters report the news. I'm unaware of any instance where a Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, etc have been challenged on what they have reported and lost because of inaccuracies in reporting. Joy Reid (who is over the top, IMHO) will NOT allow any right-wing/conservative guest to come on her show and spew lies and propaganda without cutting them off real quick.
| by Anonymous | reply 102 | June 7, 2023 11:24 PM |
Ahhhhh the chicken noodle network has never been the same since Ted Turner sold it.
| by Anonymous | reply 103 | June 7, 2023 11:30 PM |
Will he at least stay for the much touted Danny Masterson Town Hall?
| by Anonymous | reply 104 | June 7, 2023 11:39 PM |
I wonder if Ted Turner is cognizant enough to be aware of what's happened to his beloved network. He revealed he has Lewy Bodies Dementia a few years ago.
| by Anonymous | reply 105 | June 8, 2023 12:05 AM |
Anyone who thinks MSNBC has a left tilt should watch it during the day. Andrea Mitchell drools over every bit of bad news for Dems. Kathy Tur with her gawdawful vocal fry smiles over it.
| by Anonymous | reply 106 | June 8, 2023 12:16 AM |
[quote] Will he at least stay for the much touted Danny Masterson Town Hall?
R104, will you marry me? If not, I understand, it's so sudden. Just know that you are now my answer to the "What was the last thing that really made you laugh out loud?" thread, so thanks for that.
—Anonymous
reply 104
| by Anonymous | reply 107 | June 8, 2023 1:53 AM |
It's all Zaslov's fault. The kid never had a chance...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 108 | June 8, 2023 1:55 AM |
Well, this will make a great movie scene
[quote]NYT describes when/where/how Licht was fired:
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 109 | June 8, 2023 2:47 AM |
NBC News Now is surprisingly good, isn't it, R30?
I tuned in expecting nothing and was impressed. Even their features are good.
| by Anonymous | reply 110 | June 8, 2023 2:57 AM |
CNN Staffers Breathe a Sigh of Relief, But Wonder: What Next?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 111 | June 8, 2023 3:29 AM |
R87, I don’t get why the BBC model wasn’t attempted by CNN.
| by Anonymous | reply 112 | June 8, 2023 3:34 AM |
The thing I've kept reading is that Zucker is favored for a comeback.
| by Anonymous | reply 113 | June 8, 2023 3:36 AM |
Where have you read that, R113?
| by Anonymous | reply 114 | June 8, 2023 3:43 AM |
[quote]The Trump years were disastrous for CNN because they lost their degree of professionalism
I disagree. I think CNN and its anchors did an effective job of holding Trump and the Republican Party responsible for January 6, the Big Lie, the mishandling of Covid, and many other issues.
The decision to move CNN to the right under Chris Licht is what has harmed it. Hopefully the powers that be will realize their mistake and stop the move to the right.
| by Anonymous | reply 115 | June 8, 2023 10:02 AM |
I’ll still never watch them as long as they have that homophobe Collins as a lead. I’ll never understand why she was given a pass.
| by Anonymous | reply 116 | June 8, 2023 10:08 AM |
Licht sounds like a brainless fratboi and useless
| by Anonymous | reply 117 | June 8, 2023 10:16 AM |
Pretty much. Corporate America’s motto: “Failure, Ever Upward!”
| by Anonymous | reply 118 | June 8, 2023 10:37 AM |
How can we Outdouche Fox?
| by Anonymous | reply 119 | June 8, 2023 10:50 AM |
Someone upthread said, why don’t they model themselves after the BBC? I think it’s worth a try. But I keep thinking as well, this is a country that loves reality TV, so I’m not so sure it will work. But this move to the right is not going to work ever.
| by Anonymous | reply 120 | June 8, 2023 12:48 PM |
The BBC gets quite a bit of hate from both sides in the UK. There is literally graffiti in my city traducing the BBC and I have no idea whether the right or the left made that graffiti which just gives you an idea - I think that the reality is that people *want* to watch biased news. And even the BBC is biased in my opinion - it's hard not to be. My opinion is not that they are biased towards the right or the left - I think they are biased towards the sort of Lib Dem worldview which obviously is not pleasing a lot of people.
| by Anonymous | reply 121 | June 8, 2023 1:02 PM |
[quote] It would be much more interesting to hear the real world implications from the people that an issue will affect.
R87, I'd support that, and as someone else mentioned, PBS' newshour or the BBC are doing it. I'm just not sure they're successful at it. So I'm not sure it would sell. People looove drama. They want to talk about Trump, not necessarily the damage his few successful policies did. And drama sells. That's why FOX News and MSNBC are so successful. They developed and established the 'other side' so effectively as antagonists. And now they cannot tone it down anymore because less drama means less ratings. People simply don't like to talk about issues. Maybe I misunderstood you. Maybe instead of congress members CNN invites doctors, priests and pregnant teenagers to discuss abortions? Is this what you meant? That may work.
When CNN started, it didn't need to make money because it was just an add-on to cable. When that changed and every cable outlet needed to make (better) profits, that's when CNN went down the drain.
| by Anonymous | reply 122 | June 8, 2023 1:06 PM |
[quote]I disagree. I think CNN and its anchors did an effective job of holding Trump and the Republican Party responsible for January 6, the Big Lie, the mishandling of Covid, and many other issues.
IMHO, I think it was too late by that time. CNN allowed itself to be defined by the right. Even in casual conversations I heard people sarcastically refer to CNN and these were people that probably never watched the network ever. Then the network (running scared of being called "liberal") hired the crazy right-wing propagandist ie Rick Santorum, etc to have a platform and spew lies without any challenge. This just turned off their core audience. That is, those that were left.
| by Anonymous | reply 123 | June 8, 2023 1:09 PM |
[quote] The decision to move CNN to the right under Chris Licht is what has harmed it. Hopefully the powers that be will realize their mistake and stop the move to the right.
Would any move to make CNN “less left” be labeled as a “move to the right”? Maybe it would be clearer to say that people want CNN to remain on the left.
| by Anonymous | reply 124 | June 8, 2023 1:12 PM |
R121 that’s not really what they mean by going BBC. I read it as more the global reach of the BBC…scaled up scope of coverage.
| by Anonymous | reply 125 | June 8, 2023 1:12 PM |
[quote]People simply don't like to talk about issues.
I disagree with that.
[quote] Maybe instead of congress members CNN invites doctors, priests and pregnant teenagers to discuss abortions? Is this what you meant? That may work.
Hmm... I think you might have something here.
| by Anonymous | reply 126 | June 8, 2023 1:14 PM |
R125 But would it be a ratings success? Remember that the BBC is funded by every household in the UK who wants to watch TV at all (any channel, not just the BBC) being legally mandated to pay a TV licence. So you don't have any realistic option (other than not watching any live TV at all which most households can't do). It's a totally different funding model to those who rely on advertising revenue like CNN.
| by Anonymous | reply 127 | June 8, 2023 1:15 PM |
[quote] Then the network (running scared of being called "liberal") hired the crazy right-wing propagandist ie Rick Santorum, etc to have a platform and spew lies without any challenge.
The problem was that CNN deliberately wanted a caricature, like Santorum is. When you do that instead of bringing on middle-of-the-road representation, you run the risk of what you described.
| by Anonymous | reply 128 | June 8, 2023 1:18 PM |
CNN was contributing over $1 billion of net revenue to the bottom line R127 before the ratings tanked. There is an economic model at scale. Within the U.S., however the entire “cable news” sector is going to fade away. They need something more expansive.
| by Anonymous | reply 129 | June 8, 2023 1:36 PM |
I read that ad dollars don’t matter as much as the carriage fees the cable news channels receive. That’s why a channel with such low ratings as CNN can still make a lot of money. Cord cutting is what is going to reduce their revenue.
| by Anonymous | reply 130 | June 8, 2023 2:11 PM |
R130 They have had pretty good ratings so that's not true that they've had 'low ratings'. But CNN's ad revenue has dropped nearly 40% under Chris Licht...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 131 | June 8, 2023 2:16 PM |
CNN is crap. The political theatre between Acosta and Trump, the Cuomo mess, AC’s “reprimand”. They play both sides for ratings only, not out of any journalistic integrity. They’re worse than the nakedly partisan Fox News and MSNBC because they try to pretend they aren’t.
| by Anonymous | reply 132 | June 8, 2023 2:23 PM |
[quote]CNN is crap. The political theatre between Acosta and Trump, the Cuomo mess, AC’s “reprimand”. They play both sides for ratings only, not out of any journalistic integrity.
I think you're right here. From my observations it seems that CNN employs a lot of "journalists" whose interests lie more in becoming "media stars" rather than reporting the news and letting that work speak for itself.
| by Anonymous | reply 133 | June 8, 2023 2:29 PM |
^ that would describe every single national and local, cable or streaming, newscast in the United States! CNN is absolutely consistent with the entire industry on that point R133. Jeez
| by Anonymous | reply 134 | June 8, 2023 2:42 PM |
[quote]They play both sides for ratings only, not out of any journalistic integrity.
It's not 1954 anymore, news isn't viewed as a public service by its purveyors, it's every bit a commodity as Bob Loves Abishola and America's Got Talent.
| by Anonymous | reply 135 | June 8, 2023 2:55 PM |
[QUOTE]Maybe instead of congress members CNN invites doctors, priests and pregnant teenagers to discuss abortions? Is this what you meant? That may work.
Sounds like a late 70s episode of Donahue.
| by Anonymous | reply 137 | June 8, 2023 3:01 PM |
R124 Well, as a card-carrying leftist may I assure you the CNN has never been "on the left".... that's just a mindfuck talking point from the far right that reasonable people have uncritically accepted.
| by Anonymous | reply 138 | June 8, 2023 3:15 PM |
There was one notion from Licht that resonated with me: He realized that a lot of the Republican noise was really just noise to entertain their constituency and to distract from the real issues/damage they did. And he wanted to give the noise less attention. I appreciate that approach. He wasn't really able to execute that obviously. He didn't get his journalists on board, and he never managed for his audience to take notice.
Fox News is right about one thing: They really internalized that they needed to please their audience. They truly give them what they want. And that's really hard to pull off if you also want to be independent off the news as a journalist. Not sure how that can be done in reality. FN and MSNBC have a much easier job in that regard. One thing that CNN needs to accomplish - and I think Licht tried but couldn't: You need to respect the conservative and also the liberal voters and their needs and still call out their elected representatives for the shenanigans they do. Tough order.
| by Anonymous | reply 139 | June 8, 2023 3:48 PM |
R139 Pray tell (even prey tell)..... what did Licht do to "lessen the right wing noise"????
| by Anonymous | reply 140 | June 8, 2023 3:55 PM |
I turned of 24 hour news because I found it soul crushing. No one needs that much news. It's no secret that MSNBC leans democratic, but you get different types of voices on the channel. Nicole Wallace is not a Democrat, she just hates Trump, but she provides a good moderate voice for the network. Then you have Joy who is way way progressive. Chris who is a Bernie Bro. Then there is someone like Andrea Mitchell who is an establishment chick from way back. It provides a good counter balance, I think.
| by Anonymous | reply 141 | June 8, 2023 3:58 PM |
[quotes]There was one notion from Licht that resonated with me: He realized that a lot of the Republican noise was really just noise to entertain their constituency and to distract from the real issues/damage they did. And he wanted to give the noise less attention.
And so, he greenlights a Trump town hall?
| by Anonymous | reply 142 | June 8, 2023 4:15 PM |
He didn’t die op you dumb fuck
| by Anonymous | reply 143 | June 8, 2023 4:16 PM |
R141 And then there's Stephanie Ruhle, who always seems like the drunk mother of your best friend who is too "handsy" with you at the neighborhood BBQ.
MSNBC is without question left leaning in a lot of daily schedule - but understand that a lot what we are calling left-leaning is actually pretty centrist in the more rational scheme of things: Andrea Mitchell is old school reactionary/conservative, Wallace and Scarborough are Republicans. Jose Diaz-Belart is middle of the road.
MAGA has damaged our National Mind. We are actually talking about real (already happened_ or proposed changes: taking back marriage equality laws, making it illegal to talk about gays people in schools (even in CA, see Temecula), making abortion illegal, getting rid of voting rights bills, banning books from schools and libraries, having public tax money fund religious schools... on and on.
This is historic Reaction, and you were alive for it.
| by Anonymous | reply 144 | June 8, 2023 4:21 PM |
"Licht was betting that by neutralizing the most fiercely anti-Trump voices at CNN—firing people such as Stelter and John Harwood, and clamping down on Jim Acosta and Don Lemon—he could return the network to the neutral center. CNN wouldn’t hesitate to call out Trump’s lies, but it wouldn’t pose as the resistance either. This not only would be good for its journalism, he wagered, but would also reclaim the huge, underserved center in the media audience.
But Licht’s analysis misconstrued the cable landscape. No such audience appears to exist—or at least, it doesn’t seem to exist among cable-news viewers, night in and night out."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 145 | June 8, 2023 4:22 PM |
R145 Licht's early sacking of Stelter was telling. Reliable Sources was the closest thing to what Licht "pretended" was his goal. Old school journalism, fearlessly searching for absolute/objective truth and vigilantly analyzing where lies and mistruths were being broadcast by media.
Of course that kind of objective analysis wouldn't fit any "both sides" narrative in any way that made Licht, his corporate bosses, and the New Right wanted. They don't want objectivity
| by Anonymous | reply 146 | June 8, 2023 4:29 PM |
Is Colbert going to give him his old job back? They're still close. He's been telling Licht he made a mistake in their weekly calls.
| by Anonymous | reply 147 | June 8, 2023 4:49 PM |
But here's the thing (and I speak only for myself) I've NEVER gotten the feeling that MSNBC purposely goes into each broadcast with an attitude of "What is the left-wing angle that we can take on this issue". That's even with throwing Joy Reid into the mix. So, what if the network in general leans Democratic and/or left-wing. It doesn't matter as long as the news is being reported accurately.
On the other hand, there is FOX and CNN (at one point), that each issue is looked at from "What is the best angle that we can go that will promote the conservative right-wing agenda and shape that issue into something else." CNN (IMHO) was doing the same thing but from a liberal left-wing perspective at one point.
| by Anonymous | reply 148 | June 8, 2023 4:55 PM |
Word from inside CBS was that the Colbert staff was overjoyed when Licht moved on. He’s a real bastard, but of course knows how to kiss up to Colbert.
| by Anonymous | reply 149 | June 8, 2023 4:58 PM |
So, when is that Duck-bill lipped Concoction Collins getting the axe - she brings NOTHING but her sour look to CNN. I stopped watching when they replaced 'New Day' w/John Berman and Briana Keilar with that shit show that doesn't even have any ratings!
| by Anonymous | reply 150 | June 8, 2023 5:00 PM |
Moving Bergman and Keilar off the morning show was beyond stupid.
Sure, the format needed to be tweaked to be more engaging.
But they were really good.
| by Anonymous | reply 151 | June 8, 2023 5:04 PM |
What bothers me is that none of the major news outlets reported the whole truth on Trump. While there is part of me that wants to understand maintaining access, that asshole was committing crimes and the news outlets got bullied into silence. Or in the case of Haberman, she just sat on it for a book.
| by Anonymous | reply 152 | June 8, 2023 5:33 PM |
Totally disagree. It has been covered extensively, in every which way.
| by Anonymous | reply 153 | June 8, 2023 5:41 PM |
What is the future for the Gayle King/Charles Barkley prime time program?
| by Anonymous | reply 154 | June 8, 2023 5:57 PM |
R154, my crystal ball says it will have a brief period as the worst show on cable (not counting Fox and the Nazis) and then it will die a fairly quick death.
Gayle King wants to be the sole hostess of her own show. I'm assuming she'll bury Sir Charles (who is actually funnier and probably brighter than she is) and take over the show as its presenter alone.
| by Anonymous | reply 155 | June 8, 2023 6:48 PM |
Brianna Keilar and John Berman live in different cities. That was not going to work.
Plus, I think Brianna prefers the afternoon slot.
| by Anonymous | reply 156 | June 8, 2023 6:57 PM |
[quote] What bothers me is that none of the major news outlets reported the whole truth on Trump.
I find it hard to believe that anyone doesn’t know the “whole truth” about Trump. The only thing that varies is people people’s reaction to that whole truth. What hidden “whole truth” did CNN report on that non-CNN viewers don’t know?
| by Anonymous | reply 157 | June 8, 2023 8:38 PM |
[quote] I think Brianna prefers the afternoon slot.
I think Brianna prefers restaurants with an all-you-eat option.
| by Anonymous | reply 158 | June 8, 2023 8:40 PM |
R158 lay off her. I knew Brianna at Berkeley. She was bright, fairly bold and not a ball buster. Betting on her to survive this shitstorm.
| by Anonymous | reply 160 | June 8, 2023 8:48 PM |
R160 - What else do you know about her?
| by Anonymous | reply 161 | June 8, 2023 10:14 PM |
She is married to a decent guy, a Latino military officer. She recently started working in the afternoons.
| by Anonymous | reply 162 | June 8, 2023 10:18 PM |
R158 - yeah, she's a good egg and far more pleasant in appearance and demeanor than Kate Bolduan (on at 9:00am hour) who apparently went to the Kaitlan Collins school of 'Charm'. Even if Berman and Kielar were in different locations during their morning show, it wasn't apparent. I believe they were actually together on set many times as Berman is known for his quick whit and Brianna would crack up which gave the show a more personal vibe. It's apparent Duck lips Collins had her smile muscles removed since she rarely smiles and when she does it's very unnatural looking.
| by Anonymous | reply 163 | June 8, 2023 10:27 PM |
What’s Next For CNN: Network’s Challenges Remain Even After Chris Licht’s Departure:
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 164 | June 8, 2023 10:31 PM |
R163- Kate B was cutely tipsy at the WHCD.
| by Anonymous | reply 165 | June 8, 2023 10:51 PM |
And just as indicted-again Trump could really use another "town hall" on CNN.
| by Anonymous | reply 166 | June 9, 2023 3:39 AM |
[quote]And then there's Stephanie Ruhle, who always seems like the drunk mother of your best friend who is too "handsy" with you at the neighborhood BBQ.
Perfect description of her, R144.
| by Anonymous | reply 167 | June 9, 2023 4:49 AM |
I also like Ruhle. I didn't view R144's description as a knock.
She was and is a brash Jersey girl. She's a good interviewer.
And she and her husband give off swinger vibes, like they host a lot of small hot-tub-and-margarita parties.
| by Anonymous | reply 169 | June 9, 2023 5:00 AM |
Licht 'a primary mistake was to not make a wide house cleaning.
Though the joy is muted, it doesn’t take a genius to see the schadenfreude from current and former CNN staffers in response to the news that Chris Licht is out as CEO.
That may be short-lived. I spoke with a number of industry executives both inside and outside CNN who believe that Warner Bros. Discovery executives are now way more likely to clean house at the embattled cable news outlet. The very rank and file so eager to see Licht ousted may come to regret their open — yet anonymous — undermining of the former CEO. A leader who made mistakes, but wasn’t nearly as toxic as he was made out to be.
So while CNN’s rank and file are likely thrilled that their nemesis is out as CEO, it doesn’t change the WBD mission for the network. WBD CEO David Zaslav and lead shareholder John Malone have made abundantly clear that they see CNN as a nonpartisan news outlet willing to treat all news as nonpartisan.
I reached out to Dan Abrams, the founder of Mediaite and a veteran of the cable news industry, who is not just a trusted colleague but also a really smart guy, for his thoughts:
CNN’s bigger problems aren’t really about Chris Licht. The more significant issue is that David Zaslav clearly wants to position CNN as a more non-partisan network. . more centrist. . and even though they won’t admit it, many of CNNs rank and file just aren’t on board with that mission. They are convinced that their more left leaning worldview is the correct one, the only one. So the only way WBD could really achieve its broader goals is to make some serious changes at various levels of the organization. Licht came into an organization resistant to a major change the company wants to implement. No doubt some of the problems he encountered were self inflicted, but others are festering and will reappear no matter who is hired to lead.
One network insider I spoke to was far more blunt in his assessment: “CNN’s staffers are probably going to regret pushing Licht out because the WBD leadership will be far less accommodating.”
And members of CNN’s rank and file that remain committed to Jeff Zucker’s conflict-oriented and personality-first programming vision? They will likely soon be looking for work, given corporate leadership’s steadfast desire to move away from that very vision.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 170 | June 9, 2023 5:27 AM |
CNN staff outraged Licht did not curl up in a ball and weep.
Mere hours after his boss seemed to solemnly take responsibility for hiring him in the first place, Page Six hears that Licht, 51, was living in up at the clubby Midtown haunt the Polo Bar with his similarly ejected former chief of staff, Devan Cayea, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Needless to say, and perhaps by design, the news spread quickly through the embattled network.
Said one CNN staffer — whose career, like so many of their colleagues, has been sent into a tailspin by Licht’s string of howlers — said, “It’s gross. He lit a network on fire for a year, left it in ruins, didn’t bother to send a goodbye note to the staff, and instead of saying he’s going to take a moment of reflection, he goes and hangs out at a sceney restaurant, all in an effort to make it look like he’s fine.”
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 171 | June 9, 2023 7:18 AM |
Good for him.
Get that Polo Bar reservation while you can—might not be able to from now on.
| by Anonymous | reply 172 | June 9, 2023 9:04 AM |
Devan Cayea, the guy posing with Pelosi and Licht at R171, is the fiancé of MSNBC reporter Vaughn Hillyard, DL's former long-closeted NewsTwink.
Since when was he the right-hand man to the CEO of CNN?
Will he and Vaughn have to downsize their wedding now that Devan's been canned?
Was it a good look for Devan to pose so chummily with Nancy, considering that Vaughn covers so many Republicans?
Did someone's engagement ring come off last night?
| by Anonymous | reply 173 | June 9, 2023 11:48 AM |
[quote] instead of saying he’s going to take a moment of reflection, he goes and hangs out at a sceney restaurant, all in an effort to make it look like he’s fine
That wasn't hanging out. That was a job interview. He is networking to at least get a consultant gig going. Getting hired is difficult after such year and such damning article.
| by Anonymous | reply 174 | June 9, 2023 1:27 PM |
R170 Again, CNN is not, was not "leftist". Trump's NovoFascist scrambling of norms in the Public Sphere made usual descriptors impossible. But repeating this is akin to Republicans saying "well, there were irregularities about the 2020 election."
Give an example of the CNN leftist lean that needed to be corrected?
CNN may be annoying, inept, superficial, repetitive, performative.... but it was not "leftist"....
| by Anonymous | reply 175 | June 9, 2023 3:23 PM |
R175, I am not R170, but I think this confusion comes because the lines between news and opinion have blurred. In my opinion, neither CNN nor MSNBC report the news in a biased fashion. The primetime opinion shows may have a tilt, but neither outlet slants the actual news. You tune into Fox and even the news is slanted.
What has happened is that people think the primetime shows are news programs, when in fact they are just the opinion page. They try to push that they these shows are a deep dive and analysis on the news of the day. Not really. They're all entertainment programs.
| by Anonymous | reply 176 | June 9, 2023 3:36 PM |
R176 Yes, I think that's a useful description of what's happened to how we think about news, commentary, analysis, entertainment, and advocacy. I also think that the bubble-creating nature of social media/digital faux tribalism makes it worse. Any "event" like this indictment merely strengthens the opinions anyone already has within one's bubble.
Perhaps Trump committed a crime, and he needed to be indicted and be given opportunity to present his case before a jury, he's presumed innocent until proven guilty - no one is above the law etc. But now we have All Trump All the Time, again, on all media sources. This is just fuel for MAGA. This indictment only helps the Beast slouch towards Bethlehem, again.
| by Anonymous | reply 177 | June 9, 2023 4:09 PM |
