Jeff Zucker

Thursday

Cockburn

Elon Musk cans Don Lemon

Just when Cockburn feared Don Lemon might be able to salvage the remnants of his career, the former CNN host's shot of success slipped away. Lemon, who had cut a deal with X to host The Don Lemon Show, announced on Wednesday that Elon Musk had ended their partnership. The news came just hours after the two had sat down for an interview for the upcoming show.  “Elon Musk is mad at me,” Lemon said in a video while sipping his Starbucks latte. “Apparently, free speech absolutism doesn't apply when it comes to questions about him from people like me.” On Wednesday night, Lemon came crawling back to CNN to spill tea with Erin Burnett and share some tense moments from the interview. https://twitter.

don lemon

Wednesday

Stephen L. Miller

Chris gets Licht: Jeff Zucker’s inmates still run the CNN asylum

It appears that Chris Licht is a victim of the Deep State of the Union at CNN. Licht is out at CNN, lasting just over a year, during which time he was unable to drain the swamp Jeff Zucker had left for him. Licht faced down several internal mutinies, reportedly some being led by former Media Matters imi-tater Brian Stelter, whom Licht released last August.After a much-hyped profile by Tim Alberta in the Atlantic, several other hit pieces followed at progressive outlets. They all smelled blood in the water and were proven right. Licht’s stated focus was to rein in CNN’s WrestleMania-style coverage of the Trump years.

chris licht

Thursday

Stephen L. Miller

Farewell Brian Stelter… for now

One of cable news infotainment’s most shameless hosts is out of a job. On Thursday CNN canceled the Sunday morning show Reliable Sources and released its host Brian Stelter. The media’s janitor, as I’ve come to call him, is unemployed for now, but don’t expect it to last. The New York Times has had a media columnist opening since Ben Smith left in January — and that’s where Stelter made his name. I hate to burst the bubble of those celebrating the departure of one of the most dishonest figures in the national media, but Stelter, for some reason or another, is highly respected in the industry. His CNN newsletter is one of the highest circulated among journalists, whom Stelter worked to shield from controversy from atop his perch on the wall at CNN.

brian stelter

Wednesday

Stephen L. Miller

Can Chris Licht turn CNN into a serious news operation?

CNN’s new president Chris Licht, who replaced Jeff Zucker, is reportedly shifting the network's direction away from partisan sniping at its competitor Fox News. According to the Daily Beast, Licht “has already begun backchanneling with key figures, including agents and reporters, and, according to two insiders familiar with the matter, making it known to Fox News that he is working towards a cease-fire on his network’s aggressive coverage of them.” The Daily Beast also notes that lead CNN hall monitor Brian Stelter did not mention Fox News at all on his most recent episode of "Reliable Sources.

Wednesday

Stephen L. Miller

Good riddance, Jeff Zucker

Longtime CNN president Jeff Zucker resigned today citing an undisclosed consensual relationship with his long-time colleague Allison Gollust. There’s clearly more to the story, as Puck News founder Matthew Belloni tweeted, “Potentially important: I’m told CNN received a litigation hold letter recently from Chris Cuomo lawyers, demanding, among other things, preservation of all communications between Zucker, comms chief Allison Gollust and Andrew Cuomo.” The news left CNN ombudsman Brian Stelter decrying how shocking and stunning Zucker’s exit was, even as several other journalists and media personalities noted that the relationship between the CNN chief and Gollust was an open secret.

jeff zucker

Tuesday

Stephen L. Miller

What Chris Wallace does next

Chris Wallace stunned the world of news media this weekend by announcing his resignation from Fox News and its staple show, Fox News Sunday. What he did next shocked some further and didn’t surprise others at all: he joined CNN+, a new streaming service coming next year from Jeff Zucker’s dramatic infotainment network. The move is hardly a bombshell given Wallace’s recent run-ins with the MAGA faithful, both on and off the network. It comes on the heels of a contentious election where Wallace lost control in the first presidential debate. Some see Wallace’s departure as an indictment of the direction in which Fox News is heading editorially.

chris wallace

Friday

Stephen L. Miller

Chris Cuomo is a symptom of CNN’s disease

Chris Cuomo won’t give CNN, or his very concerned social justice warrior colleagues, a break. Cuomo is arguably the face of the network. That’s a serious problem for Jim Acosta’s anti-Fox News jihad, Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy’s Media Matters rip-off gig, Jake Tapper’s 'last honest man in Washington' act and Wolf Blitzer still trying to pretend he’s just the straight news guy. Cuomo has eclipsed them all. Hence his magical COVID basement Lazarus miracle last year. Hence also the circus act with his now-humiliated brother and all the special favors that come from that kind of family connection.

chris cuomo

Tuesday

Amber Duke

The coming cable news crisis

TV pundits and reporters may personally be cheering that President Trump appears likely to be booted from office come January, but the transfer of power is bad news for the networks that employ them. CNN and MSNBC saw record-high ratings over the past four years thanks to President Trump, who supplied just the right kind of drama for their wine-sipping audiences. What will the networks talk about if they're not melting down over Trump tossing a roll of paper towels during a hurricane relief effort or serving a personally purchased fast-food spread to championship-winning college athletes?

cable