It appears that Chris Licht is a victim of the Deep State of the Union at CNN. Licht is out at CNN, lasting just over a year, during which time he was unable to drain the swamp Jeff Zucker had left for him. Licht faced down several internal mutinies, reportedly some being led by former Media Matters imi-tater Brian Stelter, whom Licht released last August.
After a much-hyped profile by Tim Alberta in the Atlantic, several other hit pieces followed at progressive outlets. They all smelled blood in the water and were proven right. Licht’s stated focus was to rein in CNN’s WrestleMania-style coverage of the Trump years.
Any time a Republican sneezed, it was considered a threat to democracy, and Licht was facing a companywide revolt in attempting to pull CNN back from acting like an activist political organization (which it is), and re-directing the network to a more neutral news-delivering platform — which is to say, being a bit more subtle about its progressive bias. Jake Tapper, who is apparently the face of the network going forward, made broad declarations about “the big lie” (his clever term for January 6 and Trump-driven election denialism), but then entertained Stacey Abrams on his show recently.
Licht chose to jettison Stelter and more recently, Don Lemon (as well as print persona Chris Cillizza). These were no doubt good moves in attempting to right the SS CNN Titanic. Where Licht erred, much the same way Donald Trump erred in his first term, was not showing the rest of the CNN Deep State the door. Drama Queen Jim Acosta, former Obama administration official Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper, Brianna Keilar, John Avlon (formerly of the Daily Beast) — all should have been shown the door. Instead, all Licht did was re-arrange the deck chairs, hoping the pieces might all fit with his less bombastic style.
The American media is not where they were even six years ago. They believe their role now is to act as a check on any policy or elective power coming from the political right, no matter if it’s Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis or the Supreme Court. Under Jeff Zucker, reporters became political participants and willing opponents to Donald Trump. They enjoyed the bloodsport enough to know they aren’t going to turn back from it.
The irony of so many at CNN still dedicated to Jeff Zucker’s shadow campaign is that there is no other human being alive on the planet more responsible for Donald Trump’s cultural resurrection, and political career, than Jeff Zucker. He leaned into the political war and attempted to position CNN as Trump’s heel, just as he did with guiding Trump to the number-one-rated television show in the country with The Apprentice and Celebrity Apprentice. Jeff Zucker knows how to make stars — and that’s what network infotainment “journalists” fancy themselves to be these days. Jake Tapper will yuk it up with Stephen Colbert. Anderson Cooper will get completely shitfaced on New Year’s Eve and Jim Acosta will cry at the border wall.
Everyone Jeff Zucker hired at CNN was playing a part that he wanted them to play — and it led to record ratings, book deals and talk show appearances. Under Licht, that all sort of disappeared, and it’s back to reading the teleprompter with cause. Much was made of CNN’s decision to host former president Donald Trump in a town hall format, and the usual theatrics followed. CNN, however, needs Trump, now more than ever. That is why Chris Licht is out of a job, and why Jeff Zucker’s inmates are still running the asylum.
