It was one of those pieces of news that was simultaneously stunning and utterly expected: Chris Licht was out of CNN.
No doubt, the chairman and CEO had been embattled, almost from the start of his tumultuous year-long reign. He took over from Jeff Zucker, who – whatever his faults – was popular with the staff because he understood what they did and supported it. Soon after arriving, Licht went on an ill-advised apology tour on Capitol Hill in which he sent the message that Republican lawmakers – even those who had supported overturning the 2020 election or downplayed the 6 January 2021 insurrection – would be welcome and treated well on the network.
