When Chris Licht took over as the president of CNN and promised that he would shake things up in a big way as a means of returning the network toward more balanced, centrist news coverage, a lot of folks thought the guy was going to be all squawk and no walk. And then the purge began. Big names on CNN’s prime-time lineup suddenly started getting chopped from the network. Licht was telling the truth it seems.
Just a few weeks ago, Licht booted Brian Stelter and cut his “Reliable Sources” program off the air, which was shocking for a lot of folks. But not nearly as shocking as what happened on Thursday. CNN actually cut hardcore leftist anchor Don Lemon from the prime-time schedule and is making him a co-anchor on a new morning show. And yes, that’s totally a demotion.
The Daily Wire said, “The eight-year run of ‘Don Lemon Tonight’ will end as new president Chris Licht continues to follow through on his pledge to tone down the network’s far-Left slant. Lemon’s new gig will be co-hosting the revamped morning show with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.”
“There is no stronger combination of talent than Don, Poppy and Kaitlan to deliver on our promise of a game-changing morning news program,” Licht revealed in a statement.
CNN axes Don Lemon from primetime, moved to morning show in anchor shakeup https://t.co/9OUWZo5tGE pic.twitter.com/e5rosokFL3
— New York Post (@nypost) September 15, 2022
The network did not reveal how it would go about filling in the 10 p.m. slot after making the switch, nor did they go on to say what might be next for either John Berman or Brianna Keilar. Which honestly does not seem to bode well for the futures of either one of them at CNN, does it?
Lemon’s show was never really all that popular. The program only brought in a fraction of the viewers that the “Ingraham Angle” over at Fox News brought in, so it’s good business sense to boot Lemon, who is a radical when it comes to his ideology, from such an important time slot and try to come up with programming that would be of interest to a wider audience.
“The last eight years have been an incredible ride,” Lemon remarked in a statement addressing the changes. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with one of the best show teams in the business, but it’s time to shake things up.”
“Chris Cuomo, who previously hosted the lead-in to Lemon’s ratings-challenged program, was fired last December after word got out he had helped with the sexual harassment defense of his brother and frequent guest, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,” the Daily Wire reported.
Back in May, Licht made the announcement that the network would be doing some work on “New Day,” which is the morning show that has routinely been beaten down by “Fox & Friends” and even MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” He also made it clear he intended to get away from being an extreme left network and push toward more straight reporting.
“I want to acknowledge that this is a time of significant change, and I know that many of you are unsettled,” Licht is reported to have told staffers on an editorial staff call three weeks ago. “There will be more changes, and you might not understand it or like it.”
We definitely need more networks out there to be fair and balanced, though it will take a lot of work and a long, long, long time before anyone dares to trust CNN as a source of news.
