Insider Finance - Business - Inside CNN’s epic fail

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June 5, 2023

Hello, Insiders! Nicholas Carlson, global editor in chief, here. The Atlantic published a devastating profile of CNN CEO Chris Licht on Friday. He comes across as someone with no vision — and no backbone.

Several of Licht's peers have shared their horror with me over the story since it came out: “It's like watching a snuff film,” one told me. So, how did CNN screw the pooch? I’ve been able to piece together a timeline. That’s today’s Big Story.

In today’s edition:

Elizabeth Holmes may never fully repay restitution to Theranos victims.
Why are younger generations pissed? Blame the housing market.
A Wall Street trader made a $7.5 million windfall on a suspiciously-timed investment.

— Nicholas Carlson

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THE BIG STORY

CNN disaster

Matt Winkelmeyer/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

CNN is in the midst of a massive PR fail. The disaster I'm referring to is reporter Tim Alberta's tough profile of CNN chair and CEO Chris Licht, published last week in The Atlantic.

What went wrong at CNN to allow such a story to come to light? I have a basic timeline of how this thing went down — here’s some of it:

Licht got the job in May 2022, with a plan to make CNN less partisan.
In late May or June 2022, Alberta pitched a story to CNN comms "about whether trust in the media could be restored.”
Multiple CNN insiders told me their understanding was that the story was originally supposed to be about the launch of Licht's brainchild, "CNN This Morning."
But then things got backed up, they said. Alberta went on book leave. By the time he came back, the morning show was a disaster. CNN was forced to give him more access.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

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Vladimir Putin was just a KGB “errand boy,” per a new report. For his work as an intelligence officer during the 1980s, Putin is often portrayed as a Soviet super spy. But an investigation by Der Spiegel said that his time at the KGB was limited to “banal” administrative tasks. Read more.
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This edition was curated by Nicholas Carlson, and edited by Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan, and J.R. Stacey. Get in touch: insidertoday@insider.com.

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Black Sea missile attack A Wall Street trader Apple CEO Tim Cook pole cruiseHolland America Line THE BIG STORYCNN disaster CNN CEO Chris Licht massive PR fail surprise debtceilingdeal concession Sen Joe Manchin former FBI director Central Park West serious economic anxiety Soviet super spy banal administrative tasks former sewer divers The Hollywood Reporter former Theranos partner reporter Tim Alberta new mixedreality headset Mountain Valley Pipeline KGB errand boy real mystery novel Multiple CNN insiders

Insider Finance - Business - Inside CNN’s epic fail

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