They claim this shift signifies a revival of the earlier liberal stance of the channel synonymous with Jeff Zucker's era, a time when CNN was widely criticized for forfeiting its traditional non-partisan standing.
Fox News contributor Joe Concha voiced his thoughts on the recent changes within CNN. He said, "The inmates are running the asylum again over at CNN in the post-Licht era. And the piousness is so thick you can cut a knife with it." Elaborating further, he added, "CNN gets to be the resistance network again. The inmates are happy. They're also insufferable in their hypocrisy."
The ousted CEO, Licht, had expressed his intention to diminish the anti-Trump, liberal stance, which was a hallmark of Zucker's leadership. However, his tenure was characterized by internal discord, culminating in his decision to invite former President Trump to a CNN town hall last month. This event seemed to be the final straw, leading to Licht's dismissal after over a year at the helm. His approach, it seems, had lost the confidence of the newsroom and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
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Curtis Houck, the managing editor at NewsBusters, who scrutinizes CNN's coverage as part of his job, suggests that the range of Trump's federal indictment indicates that the network's staff have abandoned the objective of balanced reporting. "Spending more than a few seconds watching CNN over the last week, it's abundantly clear the network has almost immediately returned to how things were under Zucker," Houck expressed to Fox News Digital.
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He illustrated the situation with a vivid metaphor: "The talent comes across as victorious in a TV version of 'Mean Girls' against this supposedly threatening bully in Licht." He further noted that before taking on the role at CNN, Licht had no experience running a newsroom.
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Licht's tenure was marred by dissatisfaction within CNN's ranks right from its outset, starting with his decision to discontinue CNN+ before officially taking charge. Subsequently, his remote office location, several floors removed from the newsroom, and his perceived detachment from CNN's big-name stars drew ire and led to allegations of aloofness.
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High-profile correspondents like Christiane Amanpour publicly criticized Licht for hosting the Trump town hall. Anderson Cooper even said he would understand if viewers decided to permanently abandon CNN for hosting the event. Reports suggest Cooper and Jake Tapper complained about Licht to Warner Bros. Discovery executives, while CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy was consistently critical of his former boss.
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Houck weighed in on the matter, stating, "If anything, Licht's tenure showed us how bitter and thin-skinned so many CNN employees are to views outside their bubble. They have more than an aversion to outside criticism. Rather, it's treated like a deadly allergy."
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Echoing these sentiments, Jeffrey McCall, DePauw University professor, and media critic, told Fox News Digital that "internal forces at CNN succeeded in getting Licht canned" in an attempt to halt his endeavor to "drag CNN back to a more objective, professional approach to journalism and away from the activist, agenda-driven vision of the Zucker era."
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McCall noted that the network's liberal decision-makers "surely feel emboldened with their new-found power and can revert to their 'Trump resistance' approach to journalism." He explained how Trump's legal troubles allow CNN's established activists to reinstate their ideological approach to news.
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Tapper's statement on Tuesday night, asserting that it would be "dangerous" to broadcast a Trump speech live, represents a clear departure from the approach taken during Licht's brief tenure. A month ago, under Licht's leadership, CNN offered Trump a chance to reach a non-conservative audience with a town hall. The recent comment from Tapper seems to indicate a dwindling of such impartial approaches. In addition, Tapper rebuked CNN producers for airing footage of Trump mingling with supporters at a Miami restaurant, exemplifying the shift in the network's editorial stance.
Joe Concha highlighted the irony of the situation when Tapper, in his words, was "preaching about the importance of truth and not putting liars on the air" just before conducting a lengthy interview with Andrew McCabe, a former FBI official who was dismissed for reportedly lying about leaks to the media.
CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy offered further evidence of this perceived change in his newsletter "Reliable Sources." Darcy contrasted the recent decision not to broadcast Trump's speech live with the previous editorial choice to extensively cover Trump's remarks post-New York arraignment. Darcy has been vocal in his criticism of conservative media and the Republican party, and his views on the network's new direction appear primarily positive.
Tom Elliott, the founder of Grabien Media, also noted this return to Zucker-era tactics, saying, "Unfortunately for CNN, the lunatics have reclaimed control of the asylum." Elliott further suggested Darcy seemed pleased about CNN's return to regular anti-Trump programming.
While these criticisms come primarily from conservative observers, some voices within the Democratic camp also express dissatisfaction with CNN's approach in the post-Licht era. Democratic strategist Kevin Walling argued that each network should independently decide its editorial stance on Trump coverage but noted that CNN might not be doing it correctly.
Walling argued, "I'm always going to air on the side of the First Amendment and the need for the public to see and hear from candidates running for any office, but especially the presidency." He further suggested that the broadcasts of Trump's speeches, despite their distortions, were not irreparably harmful to the public.
Houck, the NewsBusters managing editor, suggested that the changes during Licht's tenure at CNN, which provoked a significant backlash from the left, were minimal, except for allowing viewers to hear from Trump. He contends that "Licht failed to make wholesale changes to the tone and tenor" of the network due mainly to an unwillingness to dismantle the network's existing personnel structure, which was still highly loyal to Zucker.
To many observers, CNN appears to have regressed to the combative, partisan stance of the Zucker era, with Houck describing it as almost taunting to viewers. There is a perception that the return to this approach, coupled with an unmistakable aura of factionalism, might be detrimental to the network's reputation and ratings.
As Houck concludes, "viewers left, right, and center have -- or at least should have -- eyes wide open for what CNN is." This scenario offers a cautionary tale of the challenges of transitioning from one editorial approach to another in an environment shaped by deeply polarized political views.
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