(Trends Wide) — An exhausted Trends Wide breathed a cathartic sigh of relief on Wednesday following the departure of Chris Litch as CEO of the network.
After enduring unprecedented internal conflicts that generated a relentless storm of negative press coverage for the past year, the employees of one of the world’s most iconic media outlets hope to move on and put a tumultuous chapter behind them.
Trends Wide staff do not want the organization to be known and consumed by a never-ending soap opera starring the company’s executives. They want the world to read about the news that their journalists report. They want the news to be the star.
With the firing of Chris Licht as Trends Wide president and CEO this Wednesday morning, the staff is aiming to get back to that mission. They long for it deeply.
Chris Licht’s brief 13-month tenure as head of the network was marred by a series of serious missteps that ultimately left him unable to run the company. Not all of the tumult that occurred over the past year was his fault, surely. The poor advertising climate and the business realities of a mega-merger made cost cutting necessary. And taking the reins from the chain’s previous boss, Jeff Zucker, who was revered by the staff, was never going to be easy.
But a series of self-inflicted injuries kept Licht, and therefore Trends Wide, in the press for all the wrong reasons. Employees never fully trusted Licht’s leadership skills, business skills, or editorial acumen, a disastrous cocktail that no doubt contributed to why there were so many damaging press leaks.
Chris Licht, President and CEO of Trends Wide Worldwide (Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)
In recent months, David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Trends Wide’s parent company, also began to have serious concerns. That was evidenced by Zaslav’s decision last week to install his top lieutenant, David Leavy, as Trends Wide’s chief operating officer.
But an already bad situation was made worse when The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta published his devastating 15,000-word profile on Licht. It was the death sentence. The article, in which Alberta spoke to more than 100 Trends Wide employees, questioned Licht’s ability to lead the organization forward.
The magazine’s damning story crystallized Zaslav’s concerns, a person familiar with the matter said. The WBD boss over the weekend began to seriously consider relieving Licht of his duties. The final decision to fire Licht was made earlier this week. And on an early morning stroll Wednesday through a smoky, apocalyptic Central Park, Zaslav informed Licht that his time was up.
Trends Wide’s base of more than 4,000 employees, including anchors, learned of the quake shortly thereafter, during the network’s editorial meeting, which is held daily at 9:00 am. Zaslav walked into the Hudson Yards conference room where New York employees meet and informed employees there and around the world that Licht was already out of the company. Licht, in particular, was not present at the meeting and never sent a final memo or goodbye to the staff he once led.
Zaslav, who has taken responsibility for the chaos that has engulfed Trends Wide in recent months, said Licht’s job was “never going to be easy.” He praised his “incredible career” and wished him the best in his future endeavors. “For various reasons, things didn’t work out and that’s unfortunate,” Zaslav said. “It is really unfortunate. And ultimately, that’s up to me. And I take full responsibility for that.”
Zaslav told Trends Wide employees that the company is “in the process of conducting a broad search,” both internally and externally, for a new head of the network. Although the search is already underway, Zaslav warned that he “will take a while” to identify a new head of the chain.
Meanwhile, Zaslav said the leadership team will be comprised of three veteran Trends Wide executives: Amy Entelis, executive vice president of content and talent development; Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of editorial; and Eric Sherling, executive vice president of US programming. Leavy will continue to oversee the company’s business activities.
“We have great confidence in this group and will fully support them until a new CEO is named,” Zaslav said in an emailed statement to Trends Wide staff. “We are in good hands, which allows us to take the time we need to conduct a careful and thorough search for a new leader.”
Many staff members also have great confidence in the group, made up of experienced hands who have already proven their ability to lead the organization through troubled waters. But that is not to say that the anxiety among the rank and file has completely dissipated.
While the staff may have sighed with relief upon learning of Licht’s firing, there’s still significant apprehension in the air about what’s to come next. Will there be more cost reduction? Will the decisions made by Licht be undone? Will the next boss in the chain be an improvement over Licht? Or will the employees come to regret their dismissal?
And perhaps most pressing after the Alberta profile hinted at corporate meddling: Will WBD ensure that Trends Wide can operate, from an editorial standpoint, independently of the parent company?
Those are very real questions floating through the halls of Trends Wide right now. And the answer to each of them remains to be seen.
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(Trends Wide) — An exhausted Trends Wide breathed a cathartic sigh of relief on Wednesday following the departure of Chris Litch as CEO of the network.
After enduring unprecedented internal conflicts that generated a relentless storm of negative press coverage for the past year, the employees of one of the world’s most iconic media outlets hope to move on and put a tumultuous chapter behind them.
Trends Wide staff do not want the organization to be known and consumed by a never-ending soap opera starring the company’s executives. They want the world to read about the news that their journalists report. They want the news to be the star.
With the firing of Chris Licht as Trends Wide president and CEO this Wednesday morning, the staff is aiming to get back to that mission. They long for it deeply.
Chris Licht’s brief 13-month tenure as head of the network was marred by a series of serious missteps that ultimately left him unable to run the company. Not all of the tumult that occurred over the past year was his fault, surely. The poor advertising climate and the business realities of a mega-merger made cost cutting necessary. And taking the reins from the chain’s previous boss, Jeff Zucker, who was revered by the staff, was never going to be easy.
But a series of self-inflicted injuries kept Licht, and therefore Trends Wide, in the press for all the wrong reasons. Employees never fully trusted Licht’s leadership skills, business skills, or editorial acumen, a disastrous cocktail that no doubt contributed to why there were so many damaging press leaks.
Chris Licht, President and CEO of Trends Wide Worldwide (Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)
In recent months, David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Trends Wide’s parent company, also began to have serious concerns. That was evidenced by Zaslav’s decision last week to install his top lieutenant, David Leavy, as Trends Wide’s chief operating officer.
But an already bad situation was made worse when The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta published his devastating 15,000-word profile on Licht. It was the death sentence. The article, in which Alberta spoke to more than 100 Trends Wide employees, questioned Licht’s ability to lead the organization forward.
The magazine’s damning story crystallized Zaslav’s concerns, a person familiar with the matter said. The WBD boss over the weekend began to seriously consider relieving Licht of his duties. The final decision to fire Licht was made earlier this week. And on an early morning stroll Wednesday through a smoky, apocalyptic Central Park, Zaslav informed Licht that his time was up.
Trends Wide’s base of more than 4,000 employees, including anchors, learned of the quake shortly thereafter, during the network’s editorial meeting, which is held daily at 9:00 am. Zaslav walked into the Hudson Yards conference room where New York employees meet and informed employees there and around the world that Licht was already out of the company. Licht, in particular, was not present at the meeting and never sent a final memo or goodbye to the staff he once led.
Zaslav, who has taken responsibility for the chaos that has engulfed Trends Wide in recent months, said Licht’s job was “never going to be easy.” He praised his “incredible career” and wished him the best in his future endeavors. “For various reasons, things didn’t work out and that’s unfortunate,” Zaslav said. “It is really unfortunate. And ultimately, that’s up to me. And I take full responsibility for that.”
Zaslav told Trends Wide employees that the company is “in the process of conducting a broad search,” both internally and externally, for a new head of the network. Although the search is already underway, Zaslav warned that he “will take a while” to identify a new head of the chain.
Meanwhile, Zaslav said the leadership team will be comprised of three veteran Trends Wide executives: Amy Entelis, executive vice president of content and talent development; Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of editorial; and Eric Sherling, executive vice president of US programming. Leavy will continue to oversee the company’s business activities.
“We have great confidence in this group and will fully support them until a new CEO is named,” Zaslav said in an emailed statement to Trends Wide staff. “We are in good hands, which allows us to take the time we need to conduct a careful and thorough search for a new leader.”
Many staff members also have great confidence in the group, made up of experienced hands who have already proven their ability to lead the organization through troubled waters. But that is not to say that the anxiety among the rank and file has completely dissipated.
While the staff may have sighed with relief upon learning of Licht’s firing, there’s still significant apprehension in the air about what’s to come next. Will there be more cost reduction? Will the decisions made by Licht be undone? Will the next boss in the chain be an improvement over Licht? Or will the employees come to regret their dismissal?
And perhaps most pressing after the Alberta profile hinted at corporate meddling: Will WBD ensure that Trends Wide can operate, from an editorial standpoint, independently of the parent company?
Those are very real questions floating through the halls of Trends Wide right now. And the answer to each of them remains to be seen.
