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CNN\u2019s\u00a0Chris Licht<\/strong> is stepping down following a tumultuous tenure atop the cable news network, where he was seen as having lost the support of the newsroom.<\/p>\n His departure comes after a year of public fumbles, including the disastrous<\/a> town hall event<\/a> with Donald Trump<\/strong> and amid anemic ratings<\/a>. Licht, a former producer of MSNBC\u2019s Morning Joe<\/em> and CBS This Morning<\/em>, also failed in his attempt to develop a successful morning show, which quickly unraveled with the abrupt departure<\/a> of Don Lemon.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n It all culminated Friday in a\u00a0devastating profile<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0The Atlantic<\/em>\u00a0by journalist\u00a0Tim Alberta<\/strong>, which depicted Licht as a detached executive with little vision for how to run the cable news network. Alberta, who spoke to more than 100 CNN employees in the course of reporting the profile wrote that everyone \u201cwas asking some variation of the same question: Did Licht have any idea what he was doing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition, he wrote, \u201cCNN employees had asked me, again and again, to probe for some humility in their leader,\u201d even a \u201cmorsel of self-awareness.\u201d And yet Licht comes across as cocky throughout, bragging to Alberta about his workout routine and defending his stewardship of the network.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last week, Warner Bros. Discover CEO David Zaslav<\/strong> installed<\/a> his lieutenant\u00a0David Leavy<\/strong> to the role of COO. Leavy will become part of an interim leadership team, along with\u00a0Amy Entelis<\/strong>, EVP of talent and content development,\u00a0Virginia Moseley<\/strong>, EVP of editorial, and\u00a0Eric Sherling<\/strong>, EVP of US programming, the network announced. Puck first reported<\/a> the news of Licht\u2019s exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n “For a number of reasons, it didn’t work out,\u201d Zaslav\u00a0reportedly told staff<\/a> Wednesday morning. \u201cAnd that’s on me, I take full responsibility.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a breaking news story and will be updated<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n