Chris Licht reportedly went “blind,” according to CNN Outing

Seems Chris Licht made at CNN after a long year of controversy.

On the morning of Wednesday, June 7, news broke that Licht was out at CNN. Sources said he was “blindsided” by the ouster and still had appointments on his calendar that he attended.

Chris Licht reportedly planned to attend the meetings Wednesday before CNN announced his departure

On Wednesday afternoon, there were reports that Chris Licht was “blindsided” by his departure. The sources said Page six that he still had meetings on his calendar on Wednesday that he was expected to attend before the company announced in the morning that he would step down as CEO.

“Last night he thought he would be in the talks on Wednesday,” an insider told the outlet. “He didn’t expect this. Certainly not so soon, anyway.”

The executive has faced plenty of criticism during his year at the network, from his handling of Donald Trump’s town halls to the failed CNN+ streaming service, which shut down after just one month.

The hip profile appears to be a Atlantic over the weekend, he likely pushed the network’s decision to part ways with Licht sooner rather than later.

On Monday, Licht reportedly told his staff, “I fully acknowledge that this news cycle and my role overshadowed the incredible week of coverage that just happened and distracted from the work of every single journalist in the organization. And for that, I’m sorry.”

“For those whose trust I’ve lost, I’m going to fight like h — to win it back, because you deserve a leader who will be in the trenches and fight to keep CNN the most trusted news outlet in the world,” he added.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav surprised the executive when it was revealed he was being replaced by an interim management team, sources said.

That team reportedly includes executive vice president of editorial Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of programming Eric Sherling and executive vice president of talent Amy Entelis.

Zaslav appointed David Leavy as managing director just last week. While many in the industry saw it as a sign that Licht was on his way out, no one expected him to leave so quickly.

The news of Licht’s dismissal comes soon after Don Lemon revealed that his time at CNN was also over. He seemed similarly “blindsided” to leave the network after his long tenure there.

Don Lemon says he didn’t even expect CNN to be ousted

In late April, Don Lemon said on Twitter: “I was notified this morning by my agent that CNN has terminated me. I’m impressive. After 17 years at CNN, I would have thought someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.”

“There was never any indication that I couldn’t continue doing what I loved at the network,” he continued. “It is clear that there are bigger problems. With this, I would like to thank my colleagues and the many teams I worked with for the incredible race. They are the most talented journalists in the business and I wish them all the best.”

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– Don Lemon (@donlemon) April 24, 2023

However, CNN quickly fired back with its own it beeps, writes: “Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate. He was offered an opportunity to meet with management, but instead issued a statement on Twitter.

Their initials it beeps of the announcement, it said: “CNN and Don have parted ways. Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will support him in his future endeavours.”

Lemon’s firing came shortly after he had a public spat with Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. On a February episode of “CNN This Morning,” Lemon noted that Haley was “not in her prime” when discussing her age.

He later apologized on Twitter, writing: “The reference to women’s ‘first’ this morning was sly and off the mark, as my colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I’m sorry.