NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Licht, the embattled chief executive of CNN, apologized to network employees on Monday for distracting from their work and promised to “fight like hell” to earn their trust amid criticism of his year at the helm. Licht replaced a popular leader, Jeff Zucker, with a mandate to win back some of the viewers alienated from CNN by former President Donald Trump’s attacks. CNN’s prime-time viewership averaged 494,000 in May, the Nielsen company said. CNN reached 3.3 million people for its Trump town hall on May 10, yet two nights later its prime-time viewership plunged to 335,000 people, Nielsen said. One of Zaslav’s top aides at Warner Discovery, David Leavy, was appointed last week as chief operating officer of CNN Worldwide, reporting to Licht.

Source: CNN June 05, 2023 21:52 UTC