(Headline USA) The new president of CNN has reportedly instructed the network’s employees to stop referring to former President Donald Trump’s allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 election as “the big lie.”
Chris Licht, who recently replaced disgraced Jeff Zucker as the head of CNN, asked newsroom leaders to stop using the phrase during a conference call this week, given that it has become a partisan phrase used mainly by Democrat politicians, according to Mediaite.
Licht admitted his directive was more of a request than an order, but said it would help maintain CNN’s “neutrality.”
Instead of “the big lie,” CNN reporters and anchors should use the term “Trump election lies,” Licht said.
Predictably, CNN staffers were not pleased.
“It’s worrisome that we’re being told how to talk about one of the worst things that ever happened to American democracy,” a CNN insider said.
“We have to call lies, lies, whether they’re small lies or big lies. Is there any lie bigger than that lie?”
Licht has been making gradual changes to CNN’s coverage, asking the network to stop using its “breaking news” banner constantly.
“Its impact has become lost on the audience,” Licht wrote in a recent memo. “We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers.
“I think we can be a beacon in regaining that trust by being an organization that exemplifies the best characteristics of journalism: fearlessly speaking truth to power, challenging the status quo, questioning ‘group-think,’ and educating viewers and readers with straightforward facts and insightful commentary, while always being respectful of differing viewpoints,” Licht added.
He is also considering booting hosts who are too partisan, such as Brian Stelter and Jim Acosta.
Anchors who are unable to “adjust to a less partisan tone and strategy” could be removed from their posts, said three sources familiar with the matter.
