CNN Chairman Names New Leadership Team

CNN’s chairman, Chris Licht, has settled on a new leadership team for the network’s news and business sides, picking mostly from the ranks of insiders who worked for his predecessor.

In a memo to CNN’s 4,000 employees on Wednesday, Mr. Licht said Virginia Moseley would be CNN’s executive vice president of editorial, responsible for the bulk of the network’s TV and digital newsgathering.

The move consolidates the oversight of news. Ms. Moseley had been running the company’s TV newsgathering, while the digital news team was run by another executive. Her husband is Tom Nides, President Biden’s ambassador to Israel. Some aspects of CNN’s digital report, including business coverage, features and interactive stories, will continue to be run by another executive, Wendy Brundige.

Mr. Licht added that several other news veterans at the network would retain top roles: Michael Bass, the executive vice president of programming; Amy Entelis, the executive vice president of talent and content development; and Ken Jautz, the executive vice president of news.

Mr. Licht’s priorities at CNN, and the team he might put in place, have been the focus of widespread speculation since he succeeded Jeff Zucker, who abruptly stepped down in February after failing to disclose a relationship with a close colleague. Mr. Licht has told CNN employees that he wants more nonpartisan journalism and less televised political combat.

Among the business-side appointments Mr. Licht announced on Wednesday were two other executives who worked under Mr. Zucker. Johnita Due will be the network’s executive vice president of integrity and inclusion, responsible for CNN standards and practices in addition to her duties overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion. Ramon Escobar, CNN’s senior vice president of talent recruitment and development, will be in charge of the network’s contributors.

Mr. Licht also named Chris Marlin, a friend for decades who worked for the Florida-based home constructor Lennar, as the executive vice president of strategy and business operations. Mr. Marlin will be in charge of finding new revenue for the network, a priority necessitated, in part, by the inevitable decline of the traditional TV business.

The memo also said that Kris Coratti would be the network’s chief communications officer, replacing the interim head of communications, James Anderson. Ms. Coratti has been at The Washington Post.

Variety earlier reported on some of CNN’s leadership changes.