CNN's Struggles Continue as Internal Strife Goes Public
CNN, for all of the time and money they’ve spent forming the basis for the infotainment industry that we know today, sure can’t seem hold it together now that the competition is getting stiffer.
Fox News has been absolutely obliterating the ratings of their competition of late, sending CNN and others into crisis mode. To make matters worse, as CNN was preparing to launch their new streaming service, (meant to try to take at least a little bite out of Fox’s piece of the pie), they lost their premier anchor and head honcho – both in scandals tracing back to the disgraced former Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo.
It appears as though the trouble is beginning to take its toll on the network’s staff.
CNN is in the midst of a “sorry state of affairs” as the network faces looming leadership changes, struggling ratings and “the embarrassing launch of a suboptimal product,” according to a former producer as watchdogs ponder if the new regime can restore the network’s reputation.
It’s a much-publicized period of transition for CNN, as parent company WarnerMedia will finally close a long-planned merger with Discovery in the next few weeks. Former CNN boss Jeff Zucker is long gone after being forced to step aside and his replacement, Chris Licht, isn’t expected to overtake control of the network until at least April 11. Meanwhile, high-powered Discovery CEO David Zaslav will oversee the new Warner Bros. Discovery, which will serve as CNN’s parent company once the merger is complete.
And, what’s worse…
Staffers are in the dark about what changes Licht and Zaslav will make, but the duo is expected to shake things up in some capacity. Far-left opinion programming that was prominent during the Zucker regime is likely to be tossed aside in favor of straight news, and some feel changes already need to be made to streaming service CNN+ because it’s “set up to fail” despite just launching this week.
CNN is going to have to right the ship, and in a hurry, if they’re hoping to make it out of the 2020’s intact.
