CNN head Chris Licht is out at the global news network after a brief, tumultuous tenure

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Chris Licht is out after a year as chief executive at CNN, following a series of missteps and plunging ratings.

David Zaslav, the CEO of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, announced the leadership change on CNN’s morning editorial call on Wednesday.

Zaslav appointed a four-person leadership team to lead the network in the interim.

Licht replaced Jeff Zucker as CNN’s chief executive last year, with a mandate to move the network more toward the political center.

The executive’s revamp of CNN’s morning show fell flat, leading to the firing of longtime personality Don Lemon. Licht’s plans to restructure the network’s prime-time lineup have moved slowly. Kaitlan Collins is to begin a new show later this month, and CNN has signed Charles Barkley and Gayle King to host a once-a-week program.

Licht’s tenure hit a low point last week with publication of a lengthy, damaging profile of him in Atlantic magazine and the appointment of a new executive from parent company Warner Bros. Discovery to help manage CNN.