News/Commentary

Chris Licht explains CNN’s new approach to covering Donald Trump

November 17, 2022 | | Print Article

CNN CEO Christ Licht said during a company-wide question and answer session on Tuesday that the network would fact-check former President Trump and only air his events on a case-by-case basis in an effort to avoid succumbing to his “noise.”

Many believed that when Licht took the helm of CNN, the brazen partisanship would end or at least be curtailed. That does not appear to be the case as he is apparently taking direct aim at Trump’s presidential campaign.

The session was held with anchor Alisyn Camerota according to Business Insider. It primarily dealt with upcoming cuts and potential layoffs as the network regroups, streamlines, and attempts to claw its way up from abysmal ratings.

But while he was at it, Licht weighed in on Trump’s newly announced presidential run.

Camerota told Licht that she felt the network had a responsibility to fact-check Trump “when he opens his mouth.” Instead of swatting down the blatant leftist proclamation, the CNN CEO agreed with her.

She then brought up coverage of Trump events and whether the network should cover them, asserting that the former president’s campaign inevitably “sucks up a lot of the oxygen on the airwaves.” Licht replied that the network would make those decisions as they arise concerning individual events.

He contended that making those calls on a “case-by-case basis” is “where we have to be different than before.” His predecessor Jeff Zucker has been accused of covering Trump too much, which the left believes helped get him elected as president.

In response to Camerota’s calls for censoring the former president, Licht reportedly noted that CNN must not “allow the craziness to consume us” when covering Trump. “‘Don’t fall for the outrage porn,’” he quipped, using a quote by one of his favorite CNN staffers.

Licht reportedly claimed that part of Trump’s media strategy is to distract and create “noise” that’s “specifically designed to gin us up.” He warned that CNN has to choose carefully what “actually matters” and focus on what “actually has impact.” He reportedly intends to cover Trump this way so CNN’s audience knows what is actually worth paying attention to from Trump, so it all “doesn’t feel like noise.”

“Part of his strategy is to make sure that everything he does gets a lot of coverage so that when he slips in something that’s really consequential, like a coup, it feels like noise. And I don’t want us to succumb to that,” Licht reportedly posited, making it abundantly clear that CNN has not changed in the least.

As Trump announced his run for the presidency, CNN ran 25 minutes of his over one-hour speech. Then, leftist pundits and former Trump associates who have turned on him naturally tore it apart.

Trump was good for the network’s flagging ratings as expected. Despite Licht claiming they don’t want his “noise,” it’s almost a certainty they will turn to Trump once again to save CNN.

All of this is acting as a distraction as CNN gets ready for massive layoffs that reportedly have staffers terrified of losing their jobs over the holidays. Terminations are expected to start in December, according to the Daily Mail.

Licht reportedly did not get into specifics concerning the layoffs but noted that teams that are not deemed essential to the network’s “core mission” were on the chopping block. The layoffs are meant to slash costs and revamp coverage that has skewed further and further to the left.

He claimed there were no plans for future layoffs beyond December at this time. But back in June, he originally vowed there would be no layoffs or downsizing at all. That is evidently not the case any longer as CNN’s ratings continue to crater.

According to the Daily Mail, Licht has been tasked by his boss David Zaslav to cut $100 million from CNN’s budget. Morale is at rock bottom according to one CNN staffer who has been at the company for 20 years.

CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is also laying off 1,000 of its 40,000 workers before the year ends in an ongoing media bloodbath.

NBCUniversal has allegedly offered early retirement packages to employees with 10 years of service who are 57 or older. CBS and ABC are also tightening their belts as legacy media continues its slow death crawl after ditching actual journalism for the siren call of leftist politics.

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