CNN Boss Chris Licht: The Idea That I Want CNN to Be Centrist is ‘Bullsh*t’

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery

CNN will not be more “centrist” amid its massive changes under the corporate umbrella of Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO Chris Licht insisted.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Licht opened up about the changes to come to the network and revealed his own strategy for rebranding CNN, a brand struggling to find a new identity as Licht has been charged with revitalizing the network and cutting costs.

“One of the biggest misconceptions about my vision is that I want to be vanilla, that I want to be centrist. That is bullshit,” Licht said. “You have to be compelling. You have to have edge. In many cases you take a side. Sometimes you just point out uncomfortable questions. But either way you don’t see it through a lens of left or right.”

Since Licht took over CNN as CEO, numerous notable shifts have gone through, including the departure of Brian Stelter and the swift cancellation of the CNN+ streaming service. Licht replaced Jeff Zucker, and the Financial Times report shows there is still some loyalty for Zucker over the network’s news bosses.

“Licht has no superpower, not like Zucker,” an unnamed CNN executive told the outlet. The feeling with executives at Warner Bros. Discovery has been that the network became took wrapped up in partisan politics during the presidency of Donald Trump.

Even with Licht’s vision of change, there are still major cuts to come to the network as $100 million in savings need to be found this year, which could include layoffs to be revealed next month.

Licht said things needed to be toned down to fit with his vision of turning the network into a newspaper of sorts, relying on lifestyle content as much as breaking news.

“If everything is a crisis, if everything is 11, if everything is breaking news, then no one listens when there actually is a crisis. When you say, ‘No, no — really — the house is on fire now,'” Licht said.