CNN CEO Chris Licht’s abrupt exit on Wednesday paved the way for a trio of Jeff Zucker disciples to lead the long-struggling network on an interim basis.
Zucker, who was forced out last year ahead of a long-planned merger that put CNN under the control of Warner Bros. Discovery, became synonymous with left-wing opinion programming. Zucker was beloved by staffers, and many of CNN’s biggest stars were openly distraught when he was terminated. Licht, who replaced Zucker, was never embraced by his predecessor’s loyal soldiers who remained in place, and by the end of his tenure, he was a dead man walking; one insider told Fox News Digital his departure was “inevitable.”
Less than two years later, CNN’s ship needs a new captain and staffers are pleased that three holdovers from the Zucker era are stepping up.
They added Zaslav said the right things on the morning call announcing Licht’s dismissal, where he warmly praised the CNN staffers, many of whom had been mortified by Licht’s shots at the network’s earlier coverage on issues like COVID-19 and the implication they were biased and flawed in their reporting.
Some observers felt Licht was fired because liberal CNN personalities resented his attempt to straighten out the network and become a meeting place for both sides of the aisle.
“It was an internal coup, led by on-air talent… at the network, even its own media team, that ultimately brought [Licht] down. And why? Because many could not accept the fact that Licht was attempting to move the network from being seen by conservatives and many independents as an activist news network,” Joe Concha said on “America’s Newsroom” shortly after the Licht’s departure was announced.
“Conflict of interest alert: CNN is promoting news executive Virginia Moseley, who is married to Tom Nides, Biden’s ambassador to Israel,” Media Research Center executive editor Tim Graham tweeted.
Tom Nides, who was confirmed as President Biden’s U.S. Ambassador to Israel in 2021, is married to CNN honcho Virginia Moseley.
CNN told Fox News Digital that “Virginia will recuse herself from anything regarding Israel” when asked if Moseley’s husband creates a conflict of interest in her new role.
Jeff Zucker-era holdover Amy Entelis is part of CNN’s interim leadership team. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Turner)
Entelis helped bring Moseley to CNN after the duo both cut their teeth at ABC News when it was considered a “toxic” workplace. At the time, the Disney-owned news operation was known to be cold and unsympathetic to rank-and-file staffers, where the top priority for ABC News executives was to keep broadcasting legends Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer happy.
In one of the most public examples of lewd behavior at ABC News, political journalist Mark Halperin apologized at the height of the #MeToo movement for sexual harassment allegations made against him while he was employed with ABC News during Entelis’ time as a top executive. Halperin’s tenure at ABC News spanned into the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Amy Entelis and Virginia Moseley have never had to answer for looking the other way at Mark Halperin’s widely observed sexual misconduct when they were in senior executive roles at ABC News and when, specifically, Amy oversaw talent,” a longtime media industry executive told Fox News Digital.
“While we know we have work to do as we look to identify a new leader, we have absolute confidence in the team we have in place,” Zaslav said.
Brian Stelter is still in contact with many of his former CNN colleagues since being fired. (David Becker/Getty Images)
Ex-CNN anchor Brian Stelter, who was fired by Licht last year and remains in regular contact with many of his former colleagues, relayed on CNBC Wednesday that staffers were “relieved” at Licht’s dismissal.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Stelter said there may be a desire to have a less contentious political environment, but it wasn’t realistic, saying CNN couldn’t just deliver “the plain vanilla news” when that’s not what people seem to want.
Licht released a statement on Wednesday evening.
