Don Lemon Dismisses ‘Narrative’ CNN’s New President Will Stifle Him With Shift Away From Partisanship
CNN’s Don Lemon rejected the “narrative” that the network’s new president, Chris Licht, is trying to pull the outlet toward a new editorial direction.
Lemon spoke about the sociopolitical climate and the state of journalism on Friday in a conversation with Charlamagne The God for Comedy Central’s Hell Of A Week. At one point in the discussion, Charlamagne brought up Licht’s interest in taking CNN from “opinion-based partisan news to a political center.”
This prompted Charlamagne to ask “Will you still be able to call it like it is?”
“Let me just say I don’t think that’s exactly what Chris is saying,” Lemon answered. “I think that’s a narrative that’s been placed in the media. I think what Chris wants to do is to be able to have Republicans and Democrats and whatever your political stance is on CNN so that you can be accountable and that you can answer for it.”
Ever since Licht took over as chief of CNN, he has expressed the view that the network needs to focus more on truth-telling and straight news, rather than the “extreme,” polarizing, alarmist commentary that has become widespread on cable news. Previous reports suggested Licht might fire CNN personalities who cannot adapt to this new direction, but Lemon seemed unconcerned about this possibility as he said “yes, I will be able to do what I do on CNN.”
“If I’m not allowed to do that, then I will go on and do it somewhere else,” Lemon said at one point. Charlamagne asked Lemon to clarify if he was prepared to walk in that event, and Lemon answered by saying he was speaking more broadly than just for CNN.
“If people don’t allow journalists to be journalists because, again, we hold the powerful accountable…That is what our jobs are, that’s what we’re supposed to do,” Lemon said. “So why would it be any different for us to do it for the people who are in charge of us? To question what they’re doing, to hold them accountable, to make sure that they are doing what is right, even if they are the people who hire us.”
Watch above, via Comedy Central.
