CNN chief Chris Licht warns anxious staff members about “more changes” following the elimination of “reliable sources” and the release of Brian Stelter

CNN president and CEO Chris Licht told worried employees on Friday that more changes were coming to CNN when he talked about Brian Stelter’s departure following the cancellation of his Sunday show. reliable sources.

According to sources who were present, Licht told CNN staff at a packed editorial meeting on Friday: “There will be moves you may disagree with or you may disagree with.” For some, this means they may not like some of the changes.

He added: “I want to acknowledge everyone that this is a time of change. I know it’s annoying. “

Licht also expressed some annoyance at the media coverage of CNN’s plans, calling them erroneous speculations. The executive stressed to employees that these fluid plans are known only to a few in CNN’s inner circle of management.

However, the sudden departure and decades of career of veteran journalist Stelter reliable sources He left talent both on the air and behind the scenes for the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned cable news network, concerned as much about running CNN as about his own work.

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Warner Bros. Discovery cut costs and fired employees from the merger.

At a recent city hall meeting, Licht told employees that the chain would not have mandatory layoffs. He said Brassis was looking into the whole organization and checking if the resources were being implemented correctly. This process is likely to lead to changes, Licht said.

the reliable sources However, Stelter’s cancellation and departure seem to fuel anxiety. “Nobody is safe right now,” a CNN source told Deadline Friday.

With about three years remaining on his seven-figure contract until 2021, Stelter’s departure also sparked immediate speculation about John Malone’s role at Warner Bros., a major investor in Discovery.

With the merger under consideration by the Justice Department, Malone told CNBC in November that he wanted CNN to “go back to the kind of journalism it started with and really have journalists.” Then in February, after Jeff Zucker left the network, Stelter wrote in his newsletter about Maloney’s potential influence and explored it on his show. She wrote that Malone’s comments fueled fears that Discovery might suffocate CNN reporters and prevent profanity and injustice.

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“It comes from above,” a source told Deadline this morning. The influential shareholder source added, “If it doesn’t come directly from John Maloney, it definitely represents thinking of him with the lieutenants doing his bidding.”

The inclusion of CNN + a few days after the broadcast launched and the removal of the now-criticized Stelter and his staff have painted Licht as someone who is doing an enviable job and letting people go, at least for now. “That’s not why Chris came to CNN to fire people,” a corporate source said. “He is stuck between a rock and a hard place and getting smaller.”

But this was disproved by one network source, while another described him as a conspirator because CNN was revising its Sunday program and wanted a more consumerist show for a wider audience and not the media industry. Malone himself told him The New York Times in an email that had “nothing to do” with the cancellation reliable sources. he also told her First That he wants “the ‘news’ part of CNN to be more centrist, but I don’t have direct control or involvement.”

Billionaire media expert John Malone calls the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger “a combination of great synergies” with savings that pay off debt.

In that sense, Licht tried to make the best face during Thursday’s layoff, which also includes employees. reliable sources, who are given the opportunity to apply for a job elsewhere in the network. “I’ve known Brian since he ran TVNewser as a college student,” said Stelter’s CEO. I wish him all the best for his new commitments. “

It is not yet known what this undertaking will be. What we do know is that Stelter will host the last one reliable sources on August 20 and is likely to deliver his speech. “As for me, I have to collect my thoughts,” Stelter wrote last night in an expanded version of his widely read “Trustworthy Sources” newsletter.

reliable sourcesOliver Darcy announced on social media Thursday that he will remain on CNN, an announcement he reiterated in Thursday’s newsletter. To allay concerns, Licht mentioned Darcy’s role and future plans at today’s meeting. “Oliver Darcy will be working on relaunching the ‘Reliable Sources’ newsletter, he told staff.” We will expand. We hope to relaunch in the coming weeks. “