Chris Licht replacing Jeff Zucker as CNN chief: “A journalist at heart”

Chris Licht will take over as head of CNN in the spring, Discovery CEO David Zaslav confirmed on Monday. Licht, Paramount’s executive vice president of special programming and executive producer and showrunner of “The Late Show,” received a farewell from Stephen Colbert on Monday night.

“I didn’t know if I would like it, but six years later I love you,” Colbert said, addressing Licht, who was off stage. “I love you not for what you did for us, because it will continue. I love you for the man you are, the loving, thoughtful and loving father and husband of your family and the dear friend for me to the rest of my life. “

Licht, who was named executive producer of the “Late Show” in 2016, returns to the news. Prior to working with Colbert, Licht directed “CBS This Morning” and helped develop “Morning Joe” on MSNBC with host Joe Scarborough.

Licht wrote in a note to CNN employees that he was “a journalist at heart. Although I enjoyed every minute on the ‘Late Show,’ so critical of history. “

Zaslav said Licht is likely to replace Jeff Zucker in May, when the acquisition of Warner Media, CNN’s parent company, is expected to be completed by Discovery.

Earlier this month, Zucker resigned amid allegations that he violated network policies by failing to disclose a “consensual relationship” with a partner.

In a note, Zucker said the relationship had come to light during the network’s investigation into former presenter Chris Cuomo, who was fired in December for his role in helping his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, formulate his defense during a sexual harassment scandal.

“I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I’ve worked with for over 20 years,” Zucker said in the note. “I recognized that the relationship has evolved in recent years. I had to reveal it when it started, but I didn’t. I was wrong.”

Weeks after Zucker’s resignation, Allison Gollust, CNN’s director of marketing, resigned after it was largely reported that she was the colleague with whom Zucker had a relationship.

WarnerMedia said in a statement to CBS News that a third-party investigation found that Zucker, Gollust and former “Cuomo Prime Time” host Chris Cuomo violated company policies, including news rules and practices. CNN. The company did not specify which policies the former employees violated.

In a statement, Gollust accused WarnerMedia of retaliation, saying the company’s statement on his resignation was an attempt to “change the media narrative following his disastrous management over the past two weeks.”

“It’s deeply disappointing that after spending the last nine years defending and upholding CNN’s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I’ve been treated this way when I left,” he said in a statement to CBS News. “But I do it with my head held high, knowing that I gave my heart and soul to work with the best journalists in the world.”

Aimee Picchi contributed to the report.

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