CNN Blues

The New York Times has a lengthy piece on Chris Licht’s brief but troubled tenure as the CEO of CNN. The article is sympathetic and somewhat revealing. This comes near the top:

A chorus of media pundits has pounced on every tidbit of bad news. Mr. Licht’s early programming efforts aimed at repositioning the network as broader and less partisan have prompted howls of criticism, with former MSNBC host and former colleague Keith Olbermann publicly calling Mr. Licht a “TV Fascist” after he moved Don Lemon, a liberal host, from a prime-time slot to a revamped morning show.

“The uninformed vitriol, especially from the left, has been stunning,” Mr. Licht said in one of several interviews with The New York Times spanning his nearly eight-month tenure. “Which proves my point: so much of what passes for news is name-calling, half-truths and desperation.”

It is interesting that Licht is surprised at the flood of “uninformed vitriol” that comes from the left, given that CNN has been a major source of that uninformed vitriol, and of “name-calling, half-truths and desperation,” for a number of years. But apparently, being on the receiving end has opened Mr. Licht’s eyes.

But only in part. By his own account, he doesn’t intend to change much at CNN:

Mr. Licht said he used the analogy to make clear that a less-partisan CNN did not mean it was any less committed to truth. “This wasn’t to plot a new course but to assure people we would not let up one inch in being truth tellers,” he said. “The change is we will not do Trump 24/7 or let him dictate our agenda.”

If Licht thinks that CNN has heretofore been “committed to truth,” he has no concept of how much change is necessary.

More broadly, it appears that Licht is subject to a delusion. The Times article describes Licht’s conversations with David Zaslav, the chief executive of Discovery, which now owns CNN:

At their first meeting, Mr. Zaslav argued that running CNN would be “a great opportunity to build the No. 1 news brand in the world,” and “the most trusted brand in news where people go every day and in a crisis for the best version of the truth.”

And more than that: “This is important for America. It’s important for a functioning society.”

More delusion:

Almost immediately, their shared vision of saving democracy ran into the harsh reality of cable news economics.
***
“I want CNN to be essential to society,” Mr. Licht said in one of our interviews. “If you’re essential then the revenue will follow.”

The idea that CNN, or any other television network, is “important for a functioning society,” is engaged in “saving democracy,” or is “essential to society,” is laughable. That the people who run CNN are still this deep into outer space does not bode well for their financial success.

And, in fact, their effort to stay alive financially is not leading them in a particularly elevated direction. The piece describes CNN’s struggles in prime time, with Chris Cuomo and Jake Tapper having bitten the dust:

Mr. Licht acknowledged that prime time remains an “open canvas.” He said he and his colleagues were meeting and “throwing things against the wall, looking at off-the-beaten path opportunities.” Among the names tossed out have been entertainment, comedy and sports figures. He declined to be more specific but promised surprises.

Will CNN “save democracy” with comedians in prime time? I think Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have already tried this. Or maybe, God help us, Lebron James? Watch for CNN to continue to flounder.