The recent downfall of Chris Licht has become a prime example of the kind of sensational story that dominates today’s cable news landscape. Despite being pushed out of CNN, five days after a critical profile by Tim Alberta, Licht’s mistakes and lack of awareness were very apparent. His snide remarks aimed at the staff, and his preoccupation with his predecessor’s approach, were both shocking and very unprofessional. However, it was not just Licht’s handling of the job that was at fault; it was also his initial attempt to steer CNN back towards being a neutral arbiter of truth in a widely polarized cable-news environment.
Licht was not incorrect in recognizing serious problems at CNN. During the 2016 presidential campaign, CNN unconsciously promoted Donald Trump by providing extensive coverage. After Trump’s win, CNN adapted and switched gears, adopting an aggressive stance against the president. While a lot of the criticisms were justified, the network’s position appeared overly self-involved and histrionic at times, as noted back in 2017. Licht believed that by hindering the most vocal anti-Trump voices, he could lead CNN back to the neutral center, where it could continue its journalism work and attract the enormous, underserved center of media audiences.
However, Licht’s premise failed to account for the true nature of the cable landscape. These audiences don’t exist, or if they do, they are not among the cable viewing crowd. CNN’s viewership still booms during major news events when viewers still recognize the brand for serious news, but breaking news simply isn’t an everyday event. Political and news junkies are the ones most frequently watching cable news, but they too have their political biases. As the US politics became increasingly polarized, so have cable news followers.
Licht’s efforts to market CNN to an imaginary audience of centrists only weakened the already flailing network. His attempt to appeal to conservatives was a disaster, and those viewers either ignored CNN or saw the overture as an indication of weakness, prompting CNN to slide towards the right. Other Licht’s mistakes, such as Don Lemon’s elevation, only to fire him following the failure of his new morning show, turned off viewers.
Finally, like many reporters, critics, and media moguls, Licht overestimated the power of the press as a dominant force in shaping American society. The media is an essential tool for shaping discourse, but too often, it is perceived as creating it out of thin air. Licht’s tenure at CNN was regrettable and disappointing since CNN remains one of America’s most extensive and important reporting organizations, but he should have recognized that rebuilding the old CNN model in today’s environment was an impossible task. This time is gone, and now, so is Licht’s reign at CNN.
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