Employees at CNN are reportedly “freaking out” over the network’s decline in ratings.
During an interview with Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav shared his thoughts on the recent trend in ratings at CNN.
He told the outlet that new CNN president Chris Licht is “doing a great job pivoting CNN.”
Zaslav continued, “Journalism first. America needs a news network where everybody can come and be heard; Republicans, Democrats. I think you’re seeing more of that at CNN. I think it’s the greatest news brand in the world with the greatest journalists. And we’re going to lean into that. We’re not going to look at the ratings and, in the long run, it’s going to be worth more.”
Still, a person described as a “well-placed” source told The New York Post that ratings have suffered in part due to the removal of “sensational” and “delicious” details that have become a part of cable news.
“The problem is we are not a neutral country,” the source said.
They added, “The ratings are getting worse because they are taking out all the bells and whistles. CNN’s ratings are as bad as local news ratings.”
The source explained the “new management is not freaking out but everyone else at CNN is.”
According to the source, they “want to fix the shows first, but they don’t realize the shows and ratings are connected.”
Last week, the Post reported that in June the network’s primetime lineup drew an average of 654,000 total viewers per night.
Additionally, CNN’s daytime lineup is also losing viewers, as the Post noted.
In June, Licht advised his staff not to refer to former President Donald Trump’s election claims as the “big lie,” per Mediaite.
He encouraged staff to use the terms “Trump election lie” or “election lies.”
Licht reportedly said using the term “the big lie” adopts branding used by the Democratic Party.
An insider at CNN told Mediaite, “It’s worrisome that we’re being told how to talk about one of the worst things that ever happened to American democracy.”
They continued, “We have to call lies, lies, whether they’re small lies or big lies. Is there any lie bigger than that lie?”