View this email in your browser

Received this email from a friend? Subscribe here.

Chris Licht started CNN's daily network editorial meeting on Monday by directly addressing the elephant in the room.
 
"I want to say that I've spent the weekend doing a lot of thinking," Licht told staffers, many of whom had dialed into the meeting specifically to hear from their embattled chief executive.
 
Employees had not heard from Licht since The Atlantic's Tim Alberta on Friday published a blistering 15,000-word profile on him. The embarrassing piece, which reverberated all weekend throughout the media industry, called into serious question Licht's judgment, his ability to lead the network's staff, and his overall professional capabilities as CNN's top executive.
 
In a somber tone, Licht on Monday apologized to employees for having distracted from the work of the newsroom, which has broken a string of recent stories related to the probes into Donald Trump. He said that he "should not be in the news, unless it is taking arrows" for the network. And he said that he did not recognize the person portrayed in portions of The Atlantic article.
 
Most notably, Licht, who described the experience as "tremendously humbling," vowed to push on. He said that he would "fight like hell" to win over the trust of the 3,500-person news organization he leads.
 
Whether Licht can actually win over his army of journalists, however, is far from certain — especially now that he is attempting to reset relations more than a year into his tenure, having alienated much of the employee base and squandered the good will he had when he took helm of the network.
 
In the wake of The Atlantic's explosive story, I've spoken with dozens of staffers across the company. There are a wide range of emotions coursing through the halls of CNN. Some staffers are frustrated. Others are angry. Many are sad about the awful state of affairs that has taken hold of an organization they love.
 
There is one near-universal sentiment, however, that has been communicated to me: Licht has lost the room.
 
Licht's Monday remarks, according to the people I've spoken with, struck the right tone. He did appear humbled. Staffers could hear the raw emotion in his voice as he spoke. And he invited feedback and offered self-reflection in a way that represented a marked departure from how he has governed in the past.
 
But Licht, notably, did not apologize for having disparaged CNN's previous journalism, an omission in his remarks that did not go unnoticed by staffers, particularly the network's health unit which has been infuriated by the attacks he leveled against the outlet's Covid-19 coverage. And, overall, the comments did little to move the needle. "Too little, too late," more than one employee said, summarizing the widespread attitude from staffers that I spoke with.
 
In the eyes of so many at CNN, there isn't anything Licht can do at this point to win over their support. They've hit the wall with him. As one anchor texted me, in reference to Licht's announcement on Monday that he will relocate his office to a newsroom floor at Hudson Yards: "We don't want his office relocated to the 18th floor, we want it relocated out of the building."
 
Over the last 72 hours, top anchors and correspondents have reached out to David Leavy, CNN's newly installed chief operating officer and, more importantly, the trusted lieutenant of Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav, to offer their candid thoughts about Licht's leadership. Suffice to say, in these conversations, CNN journalists have not been shy in criticizing Licht.
 
Zaslav, I'm told, understands the dire state of affairs at his news network. He wouldn't have dispatched his top lieutenant before the publication of The Atlantic piece if he did not believe there was a problem. And the publication of the magazine's article added gasoline to the raging fire. "[Zaslav] had the same reaction that everyone else did to that article," a person familiar with the WBD chief's thinking told me. A second person familiar with Zaslav's thinking said the WBD boss was not happy about The Atlantic story and that he is not blind to what is transpiring at CNN.
 
Whether CNN's corporate ownership will force a change remains to be seen. Several media executives that I have spoken with in recent days have all said that it is hard to see how Zaslav doesn't do something. WBD put out a generic statement expressing lukewarm support for Licht's leadership on Friday, though that was before Leavy heard from much of the staff.
 
In the immediate future, I'm told, Leavy is counseling Licht and CNN leadership's primary goal is to stabilize the ship. Licht spent much of Monday having one-on-one conversations with top talent and executives. Beyond repairing relationships with staff, the hope is to get Licht out of the news and to refocus the attention on CNN's newsroom.
 
That attitude was reflected by Licht in his Monday remarks to employees. "Only the journalism matters," Licht said. "And I will not be distracted from that North Star.”

———  BELOW THE FOLD  ———

Protesting Paper Cuts: Hundreds of Gannett journalists on Monday staged a strike during the company's annual shareholder meeting, demanding an expression of no confidence for chief executive Mike Reed. Journalists demonstrated by picketing in local communities, holding signs saying journalists are "worth more." The protests, which occurred at a number of newspapers across the country and was the largest of its kind at Gannett, was scheduled to last one day for most participating newsrooms, though it will continue into a second day for others. Despite the protests, the company's board of directors was elected — a move NewsGuild President Susan DeCarava called a "slap in the face to the hundreds of Gannett journalists who are on strike." Gannett didn't release a new statement on Monday, but previously expressed confidence in Reed's leadership. The AP's Alexandra Olson has more here.

Spotify's 'Strategic' Slashes: The podcasting division at Spotify is feeling more pain. On Monday, the streaming audio giant announced that it will cut approximately 200 jobs, as part of a "strategic realignment" of its podcasting division. The cuts represent a 2% reduction of Spotify's overall workforce and follow precious layoffs that occurred earlier this year. The podcasting cuts mean that Spotify will consolidate Parcast and Gimlet into a "renewed Spotify Studios operation." Variety's Todd Spangler has more here. 

🔎 Zooming in: The WSJ's Anne Steele and Will Feuer noted that the layoffs are the "latest sign of struggles" in the podcasting business: "In the rush to the fast-growing medium, investment in many cases has so far outpaced profitability prospects."

Apple's Vision of the Future: Apple on Monday took the wraps off its highly-anticipated mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, marking the company's most ambitious product launch in many years. Tim Cook hailed the headset as a "revolutionary product," with the potential to change how users interact with technology, each other, and the world around them. While Meta, Google, and others have largely been unsuccessful at convincing consumers to strap on VR headsets, Apple is hoping to change all of that. But the Vision Pro — which resembles a pair of ski goggles with a battery dangling from a cable — was met with some skepticism that it would follow in the steps of iconic Apple products and quickly become the next consumer hit to transform the world. The launch ultimately failed to excite investors, with the company's stock falling about 1% after the announcement. CNN's Samantha Kelly and Catherine Thorbecke have more here.

► The WSJ's Joanna Stern was among the first to try the new headset: "During my 30-minute demo, it weighed down on my nose and made me a bit nauseous. But wow…the interface and hand gestures are intuitive, 3-D movies are finally making sense."

► TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino also got a demonstration: "I came away convinced that Apple has delivered nothing less than a genuine leapfrog in capability and execution" of mixed-reality.

► "The Vision Pro is a bellwether for a new era at Apple, one led more by engineering and operations than design," Fast Company's Mark Wilson declares.

► Disney CEO Bob Iger also appeared on stage at the event to announce that Disney+ will be available on the Vision Pro from day one.

Kibitzing With Kennedy: Elon Musk demonstrated on Monday that he is comfortable providing a large platform to those who spread misinformation. The Twitter owner, who has thrown the social media company into chaos and uncertainty since taking over last year, hosted the conspiracy theorist-turned-longshot presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on a Twitter Spaces for a lengthy chat that exceeded two hours. During the conversation, Kennedy (predictably) spread falsehoods, including blaming gun violence on pharmaceutical drugs and calling Covid-19 a "bioweapons problem." The NYT's Reid Epstein, Alyce McFadden, and Linda Qiu have more.

🔎 Zooming in: "The decision to host Kennedy again highlights, for the second time in as many weeks, Musk’s unique potential to shape public opinion through a combination of his own personal celebrity and his private control of a social media megaphone," CNN's Brian Fung writes. "But this time, it also deepens doubts about Musk’s claims to open-mindedness — and his willingness to use Twitter as anything other than a tool for his own activism." Read Fung's full piece here.

Spider-Man's Success: It's the second-best domestic box office debut of 2023. "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" swung to major success over the weekend, catching $120.5 million in its web and proving that the box office is capable of attracting audiences for the right films. Meanwhile, "The Little Mermaid" fell to the No. 2 spot, dropping 58% from opening weekend to add $40.6 million to its haul. CNBC's Sarah Whitten has more here.

Thank you for reading! This newsletter was edited by Jon Passantino and produced with the assistance of Liam Reilly. Have feedback? Send us an email here. We will see you back in your inbox tomorrow.