Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty
Chris Licht’s ouster from CNN has generated much coverage and commentary. But are we learning the right lessons from his spectacular rise and fall? Based on what I’m seeing so far, I don’t think so.
A growing narrative suggests the “old CNN” was unmitigatedly courageous and financially healthy, and that Licht destroyed all that. It wasn’t, and he didn’t.
I should know. I was a CNN contributor from around 2016-2020. And so long as I was criticizing Trump (which was authentic and natural for me), all was right with the world. When I defended other conservative politicians or ideas, however, it did not always go so well. (To be fair, this is not exclusive to CNN; it’s a constant obstacle for conservatives in the establishment media, which is also a lesson anti-Trump conservative Alyssa Farah Griffin is learning on The View).