(FiveNation.com)- When Jeff Zucker’s romance with communications employee Allison Gollust became public knowledge in April last year, Chris Licht was brought in to take over.
After failing to turn around the struggling CNN after a year in charge, CNN sources claim new president Licht will be gone before Labor Day. He has been a successful producer for other networks, and he promised to change CNN’s hard-left tilt and refresh its stale lineup of presenters. But his gambles have not paid off yet, including putting Don Lemon on a new morning show alongside Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow.
Employees are not happy with Licht. Word on the street says he is “never alone” and demands “ordinary persons to contact. You could glimpse him and his minions rushing past, but they won’t stop chatting with ordinary people. A source told Page Six that he could be afraid of us.
Licht inherited a dicey Lemon situation, which made matters worse for the controversial new boss.
Lemon had taken some heat for comments about presidential candidate Nikki Haley and his habit of yelling over his female cohosts on their program.
Several people demanded that he be removed from the program, but instead, Licht slapped his wrist on a morning call, and Lemon apologized for his behavior on Twitter.
This did not sit well with female employees.
Licht’s greatest gamble in pairing Lemon with Collins and Harlow on CNN This Morning has failed so far. The new morning show’s low ratings may be attributed in no little part to the hostility that exists behind the scenes.
Upon winning the Oscar for Best Actress, Michelle Yeoh took a jab at Lemon’s comment about Nikki Haley’s age and not being in her “prime” (while a male is contemplating running for president in his 80s.)
Yeoh told the female viewers, “don’t let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime.”
Unless your name is Chris Licht, and you are the head of CNN. He may be past his prime.
