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☆ Former CNN Chief Jeff Zucker Has a New Job at RedBird IMI. What Is It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since leaving CNN a year ago, Jeff Zucker, the network’s former president, has been on the hunt for deals, flush with $1 billion in backing from big investors in the worlds of media and finance. In addition to Mr. Zucker, the key players in the new venture, known as RedBird IMI, are Gerry Cardinale, the chief executive and founder of RedBird, and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, an Emirati government minister who has spearheaded many of IMI’s investment conversations in the United States. Mr. Cardinale is the chief investment officer of RedBird IMI, and Mr. Al Jaber is chairman. RedBird is committing $250 million to the venture, and IMI has agreed to commit the remaining $750 million. The men gathered to discuss business last fall in a suite overlooking a Formula 1 racetrack in Abu Dhabi.

Persons: Jeff Zucker, Zucker, Gerry Cardinale, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Cardinale, Al Jaber, RedBird Organizations: CNN, RedBird Capital Partners, International Media Investments, United Arab, IMI Locations: United Arab Emirates, United States, Abu Dhabi

☆ Inside CNN's epic PR fail that made a mockery of CEO Chris Licht
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Nicholas Carlson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The Atlantic published a really tough article about CNN CEO Chris Licht. The disaster I'm referring to is Tim Alberta's devastating profile of CNN chair and CEO Chris Licht published Friday. And maybe, the story suggests, that's because that big idea is not really Licht's plan at all but one foisted on him by his boss, Warner Bros. Through the summer, Alberta and Licht and CNN comms people talked about what the story might look like. A handful of sources tell me Kelly was skeptical of whether this was a good idea, Dornic was happy to do whatever, and Licht really, really wanted to do it.

Persons: Chris Licht, CNN's goof, Tim Alberta's, Licht, Licht hasn't, Warner, David Zaslav, Zucker, Jeff Zucker, I've, I'm, Kris Coratti Kelly, Kelly, Matt Dornic, Dornic, Hugo, Evan Agostini, isn't, Michael Eisner, James B, Stewart, Eisner, Stewart's, Tim Alberta, Nikki Haley, Don Lemon, he'd, it's, that's, It's, wasn't, Zaslav Organizations: CNN, Trump Town Hall, Warner Bros, Discovery, Journalism, Licht, Global Communications, American Museum of, Disney, Alberta, Trump, Atlantic Locations: Alberta, Manhattan

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Zaslav backs CNN chief Licht amid anger over Trump town hall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Discovery CEO David Zaslav supported CNN CEO Chris Licht during an investor conference Thursday as tension at the network rises over the decision to air a live Donald Trump town hall packed with his supporters. Zaslav continues to be supportive of CNN's decision to host the Trump town hall, according to a person familiar with his thinking. "He's the frontrunner — he has to be on our network," Zaslav said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." Amanpour said she met with Licht this week to convey her disappointment with airing a Trump town hall in the format in which it happened. Amanpour is the first significant CNN journalist to publicly criticize Licht and Zaslav's decision to air the town hall.

☆ Christiane Amanpour voices dissent over Trump town hall, says she had ‘very robust exchange’ with CNN chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —It has been one week since CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump — and the fierce fallout stemming from the event is still reverberating. She said that Licht “welcomed that exchange of views,” but stood by his decision to hold the town hall. After hearing out Licht, Amanpour told the Columbia Journalism School graduates that she had not been moved. In private, the town hall has been widely criticized by employees at all levels across the organization. A CNN spokesperson said Licht was aware she planned to address the town hall in her speech.

☆ CNN getting more Republicans on-air as it seeks political diversity
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

We need to show both sides of every issue.”Advertisers “don’t want to be part of an advocacy network” but they do want to be part of a news network, Zaslav said. CNN has taken heat for its broadcast of a May 10 town hall with former Republican President Donald Trump. On Wednesday CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour publicly criticized the town hall in remarks at Columbia Journalism School, the first of the network’s on-air talent to do so. “I still respectfully disagree with allowing Donald Trump to appear in that particular format,” Amanpour said, according to the CNN “Reliable Sources” newsletter Wednesday night. The Trump town hall attracted 3.3 million viewers, making CNN the most-watched cable news network that evening, according to Nielsen data.

☆ Premarket stocks: Wall Street is strangely calm about the debt ceiling. That could change this month
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Dire warnings about the economic chaos and catastrophe that will ensue if the US debt ceiling isn’t lifted soon abound. The debt ceiling crisis of 2011 caused Standard and Poor’s to downgrade US debt for the first time in history. Schwenkler says to expect “a lot more volatility” if debt ceiling issues don’t appear resolved by the last week of the month. By contrast, recovery from a debt-default crisis would likely start the day Congress, belatedly, suspended the debt ceiling,” he added. “A misstep over the debt ceiling would subject businesses and consumers to an economic shockwave,” he added.

☆ Don Lemon and Tucker Carlson are hiring the same powerhouse lawyer — who's helped TV hosts secure multimillion-dollar payouts from their old networks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon have hired the same lawyer after leaving their respective networks. He's worked for former TV hosts at ABC, NBC, and CNN, and for a long list of celebrities. But the litigator they've retained, Bryan Freedman, has a record of helping TV hosts secure millions from their old networks. Chris Cuomo, fired by CNN in December 2021, also hired Freedman in his ongoing $125 million wrongful-termination suit against the network. Freedman did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for Carlson and Lemon, sent outside regular business hours.

☆ CNN insiders say CEO Chris Licht is standing behind star anchor Don Lemon after reported allegations of misogyny
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

CNN is responding to a Variety article accusing Don Lemon of misogyny and other problematic behavior. "CNN This Morning," which Lemon hosts with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, was launched in November, part of a bet by CNN parent Warner Bros. "CNN This Morning" averaged 359,000 viewers in the first quarter, or when the HLN simulcast is included, 438,000 viewers. Collins, meanwhile is getting a new primetime slot on CNN, the network confirmed to the New York Post. Lemon had suggested on "CNN This Morning" that Nikki Haley was not a viable presidential candidate because she "isn't in her prime."

☆ CNN staffers are divided after a bombshell report accuses Don Lemon of misogyny. Insiders say it's 'another shit show' for network chief Chris Licht.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

CNN is responding to a Variety article accusing Don Lemon of misogyny and other problematic behavior. CNN is defending Don Lemon after a bombshell report by Variety about the network's star, while insiders are speculating about his ability to survive the latest blow. "CNN This Morning," which Lemon hosts with Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins, was launched in November, part of a bet by CNN parent Warner Bros. "CNN This Morning" averaged 359,000 viewers in the first quarter, or when the HLN simulcast is included, 438,000 viewers. Lemon had suggested on "CNN This Morning" that Nikki Haley was not a viable presidential candidate because she "isn't in her prime."

☆ CNN announces revamped daytime lineup with new show format
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —CNN on Wednesday announced a revamped dayside programming lineup that the network said will employ a new format for shows to deliver the news to viewers. Instead, the spokesperson explained, they will be moving around and utilizing the full square footage of the network’s various studios. As a result of the programming changes, “CNN Newsroom” anchors Victor Blackwell and Alisyn Camerota will transition to new roles. CNN didn’t say specifically when the new schedule will go into effect, but the network said it will happen sometime in the coming months. The CNN chief, however, is still searching for a 9 p.m. host since anchor Chris Cuomo was fired in 2021.

☆ CNN chief executive Chris Licht says the 'vitriol' aimed at him over his efforts to make the network less partisan has been 'stunning'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CNN CEO Chris Licht said the "vitriol" aimed at him over changes at the network has been "stunning." And Licht has been adamant that CNN should be a network that people can trust, with less partisan coverage. "The uninformed vitriol, especially from the left, has been stunning," Licht told The Times. Licht told the newspaper that he knew coming into the position that it would not be an easy role. "I want CNN to be essential to society," Licht told The Times.

CNN —Grant Wahl, the American soccer reporter who collapsed and died while covering the World Cup in Qatar last week, died of an aortic aneurysm that ruptured, his wife, Dr. Celine Gounder, said Wednesday. Wahl, a longtime college basketball and soccer reporter for Sports Illustrated and for his own newsletter, collapsed while covering Friday’s Argentina-Netherlands match and was later declared dead. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an aortic aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in the aorta – the large artery that carries blood from the heart to the chest. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said an aortic aneurysm is generally rare and difficult to spot. He added that he sought help at the clinic at the World Cup media center, believing he had bronchitis.

☆ US consumer confidence falls to lowest level since July
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Minneapolis CNN Business —US consumer confidence fell in November as inflation and economic uncertainty continued to loom large and potentially dampen holiday shopping plans. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index measured 100.2 for the month, lower than the downwardly revised 102.2 in October. The index is at its lowest level since July, when it fell to 95.7 amid spiking gas prices and worsening inflation. “If we had a combination of higher prices and higher unemployment at the same time, I think we’d be seeing a very different consumer than what we see right now,” he said. While consumer confidence has fallen, it still remains relatively resilient; but it is unlikely to last, said Chris Rupkey, chief economist of FwdBonds LLC, in a note on Tuesday.

☆ CNN chief Chris Licht has big ideas, but employees are nervous, and more job cuts are coming
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Courtesy: CNNShifting from ZuckerPart of Licht's challenge as the new leader of CNN is he's not the old leader. There's also a hangover effect from the sudden collapse of CNN+, which Zucker pushed relentlessly as the future of the business. The comments heightened anxiety for many CNN staffers, according to six people who were at the company at the time. The changes should also bring workflow alignments to CNN digital and linear, which should help both entities' content and organization. CNN still hasn't named a chief digital officer, although the company's job posting now says it's filled.

☆ In one North Carolina community, mental health workers respond to 911 calls
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Nadia Kounang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

As one recent caller to the 911 center in Durham, North Carolina, said: “I feel kind of dangerous to myself. It’s often linked to someone who is unhoused and dealing with substance use and mental health problems. The most significant concern: a lack of training and awareness from police on how to deal with mental health issues. The KFF CNN Mental Health Survey was conducted by SSRS from July 28 through August 9 among a random national sample of 2,004 adults. Mental health already carries a stigma, and the presence of law enforcement officers in marked cars can add to that.

☆ More layoffs hit CNN as CEO Chris Licht sets strategy and shuffles talent across the organization
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Lucia Moses | Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

CNN is laying off a small number of people in its audio division. A company rep said audio remains an important area for the company and that it's refining its strategy. CNN is laying off people in its audio division, according to affected staffers. One product manager posted on LinkedIn that their position had been eliminated and that the company told staff it planned to produce fewer audio series in 2023. "Audio is an important growth area for the company," the CNN rep said.

☆ Jake Tapper heads to primetime as CNN announces slate of midterm elections programming
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York, NY CNN —Jake Tapper is moving to primetime as part of a sweeping set of programming changes CNN announced Thursday that will take effect through the midterm elections. Tapper, the network’s lead Washington anchor, will anchor the 9 p.m. hour starting October 10 and continuing until November 11. The announcement about Tapper was accompanied by a slew of other major programming changes. Alisyn Camerota, co-anchor of “CNN Newsroom” in the afternoons, and Laura Coates, senior legal analyst, will anchor from 10 p.m. to midnight through the midterm elections, CNN said. CNN said Lemon will sign off his primetime program on October 7 to prepare for the new show.

☆ Dr. Gupta: This treatment for 'brain fog' from long-Covid just might surprise you
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-05 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on an experimental treatment for "brain fog" that could help what some long-Covid patients experience.

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