In a scathing critique, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough denounced Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav for firing CNN’s Chris Licht after a critical profile was published by The Atlantic. Scarborough argued that allowing a magazine article to dictate hiring and firing decisions is unacceptable for a CEO. Licht resigned last week after failing to salvage the struggling network’s ratings. However, many commentators view Licht’s departure as a calculated move by Zaslav in response to The Atlantic’s exposé, which depicted Licht as a thin-skinned executive who alienated his staff and struggled to escape the shadow of his predecessor. Scarborough criticized Zaslav for terminating “my friend Chris Licht” after just one year, suggesting that a better approach would be to address the issue directly and move forward. Scarborough, who co-hosted the morning show that Licht launched, shifted the blame onto CNN’s parent company CEO David Zaslav, accusing him of using The Atlantic’s profile as an excuse to axe Licht. Scarborough has previously defended Licht, asserting that the network’s viewership was already declining prior to Licht taking the helm. He argued that characterizing the network as a “ratings juggernaut” is inaccurate and misleading. Recent data from USTVDB showed that CNN’s “CNN This Morning,” which Licht launched, had a paltry viewership of 309,000, dropping even further to 78,000 in the coveted 25-to-54-year-old demographic. Conversely, “Morning Joe” garnered an audience of 814,000 in May, including 111,000 in the demo. Zaslav chose Licht as the new CNN CEO after his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, was compelled to step down due to his failure to disclose a relationship with a subordinate. While Scarborough acknowledged that Licht made some mistakes, he believed that Licht had learned from them. He criticized Zaslav’s decision to separate from Licht as being motivated by fear. In the interim, Zaslav has appointed Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, and Eric Sherling as an “acting leadership team” while seeking a replacement for Licht. Scarborough compared this restructuring to Bud Light’s attempt to recover from a controversy involving transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney by suspending its own employees. He expressed his frustration by pointing out the suspension of two Bud Light marketing executives following the troubled launch of their partnership with Mulvaney. This comparison highlights Scarborough’s discontent with CNN’s actions, implying that they are making hasty decisions similar to those made by Bud Light in response to their own setback. The controversy stemmed from an Instagram post made by Mulvaney, featuring a Bud Light can with her face on it, celebrating “365 of Girlhood” and igniting a storm of controversy surrounding LGBTQ+ rights. By the end of the month, Daniel Blake and Alissa Heinerscheid, Anheuser-Busch’s marketing overseer and vice president of marketing respectively, had taken a leave of absence. It remains unclear whether they have returned to work.
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