The CEO of CNN, Chris Licht, revealed he has been the target of “uninformed vitriol” from the political left over his efforts to change the network’s editorial direction back to the political center.
Licht, who took over from Jeff Zucker earlier this year, said in an interview with The New York Times that he was surprised by the strength of the backlash to his reforms.
“The uninformed vitriol, especially from the left, has been stunning,” Licht told the Times. “Which proves my point: so much of what passes for news is name-calling, half-truths and desperation.”
Since taking over in February this year, Licht has gone about enforcing a wide range of staffing and programmatic changes including shaking up the network’s morning lineup by removing the openly left-wing host Don Lemon out of his prime-time slot and into CNN This Morning with Kaitlyn Collins and Poppy Harlow.