During a Warner Brothers Discovery advertisers event on Wednesday, new CNN boss Chris Licht and WBD boss David Zaslav made waves with the former announcing he plans to make CNN a “beacon” for journalism and wanted to oppose the “extremes [that] are dominating cable news.” Meanwhile, the latter knocked other news outlets as mere “advocacy networks.” On top of that, they announced a new format for New Day and where they’re going to shunt former CNN+ host Chris Wallace.
Sounding like any other self-righteous hack in the media these days, Licht told advertisers that “The next chapter” for CNN is “one where we aspire to be a beacon for the kind of journalism essential to a functioning democracy.”
He warned that we live in “a time where extremes are dominating cable news.” And to counter that “we will seek to go a different way reflecting the real lives of our viewers and elevating the way America and the world views this medium.”
“We intend to challenge the traditional philosophy of cable news, delivering programming and commentary that questions the status quo shatters,” he said. “Groupthink holds our leaders on both sides of the aisle accountable to facts, and fights fearlessly to get to the truth.”
For his part, Zaslav chided their competitors by saying “most news networks are advocacy networks.”
As if that didn’t also describe most CNN programming on any given day when they serve as a vehicle for Democratic Party propaganda.
“[W]e at CNN intend to advocate for journalism first,” he added. “To advocate for facts and for truth, and to advocate for underserved news consumers for Americans seeking more accurate information and less yelling and conflict.”
So, they’re going to use some necromancy to raise their “facts first” campaign from the dead?
Zaslav also touted their worldwide reach: “There is no news organization in the world like CNN. No one has the newsgathering resources, no one has the people on the ground everywhere in the world. None.”
As for the future of Wallace, who jumped ship from Fox News for the now-dead pastures of CNN+, Licht announced that his show Who’s Taking to Chris Wallace would be getting a new home on HBO Max and that he’ll still be a CNN anchor. “Chris’s show will be part of what we’re calling CNN Sunday. It’s a unique opportunity for your brand’s to appear alongside our premium content,” he said.
Sounds a lot like his old show, Fox News Sunday.
Licht, who was once the executive producer of Morning Joe on MSNBC, also has some interesting plans for CNN’s New Day. “I’m going to be honest here, we are seeking to be a disrupter of the broadcast morning shows in this space, and we believe we have the people and resources to do that,” he told advertisers.
TVNewser touts “If there’s anyone who knows morning television, it’s Licht. We’ll see what he has in mind this fall.”
You can find some of CNN’s advertisers at our Conservatives Fight Back page were we link to their contact information.
