File under this does not bode well.
The Daily Beast’s Source Material newsletter notes that months before Chris Licht officially takes over at CNN, he has begun “making it known to Fox News that he is working towards a cease-fire.” The newsletter also points out, “On Sunday, there were notably no mentions of Fox News on CNN’s marquee media show, Reliable Sources, hosted by Brian Stelter, who last year penned a New York Times Best Seller titled Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth.”
I find this rather disturbing. Fox is not a network that just happens to report the news a little differently. It’s a devastatingly effective propaganda channel that – and I don’t say this lightly – is working to destroy America as we know it. Whether it’s sowing mistrust in our elections, promoting anti-public health measures that Fox employees practice, promoting insurrection, vigilantism and white supremacy, Fox deliberately undermines American core values and norms.
In short, it’s important for news consumers to understand what Fox does and how it does it.
So why is Licht doing this? Does he not understand Fox’s role in our media and political landscape? A later tidbit in the newsletter gave a hint: “[Licht] has been described to Source Material as an intense ‘social climber’ by several people who’ve watched his star rise over the years.”
By the way, Licht comes to CNN from CBS where he was the executive producer of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. As The New York Times put it, he “engineered a remarkable ratings turnaround.” Before that, Licht was the co-creator of MSNBC’s “hugely successful” Morning Joe and he “was widely credited with turning around the fortunes of CBS This Morning."
For what it’s worth, I find the Late Show unwatchable and I was a huge Colbert fan when he was on Comedy Central. Ditto for Morning Joe. I’ve never watched CBS This Morning.
So, like I said… it does not bode well.
I thought the clip below, of Stelter explaining why it's critical for non-Fox watchers to know “the poisonous propaganda that the GOP's activist base is listening to,” is relevant. It’s from CNN’s June 27, 2021 Reliable Sources.