Licht is handling part of the strategy personally, using his Rolodex to rebuild bridges between Republican regulars on “Morning Joe” during his time at that show and the network he now leads. The Daily Beast reported earlier this year that Licht was thinking of working to “tone down” more opinionated reporting from network stars like BRIANNA KEILAR and DON LEMON. Licht’s personal friendship with Biden adds a layer of complexity to his effort to revamp CNN’s political coverage at a transitory time for the network.Īfter new corporate overlord Discovery axed the short-lived streaming service CNN+ before Licht’s first day on the job, the new CNN chief has taken a more low-key, deliberate approach to tackling some of the network’s challenges.Īmong them is how to win back some of the viewers it may have lost due to DONALD TRUMP’s demonization of the network (and CNN’s own subsequent zealous embrace of the role of Trump antagonist). “My children will be able to tell their friends that in the worst moment of Daddy’s life, a busy public official put aside the important things he was doing to help.” “He is a great and kind person, and the photo taken that day of Jenny and me being embraced by the vice president of the United States will live on in our family forever,” he said. At a party months later at the vice president’s residence at the Naval Observatory, Licht credited Biden for saving his life. The incident was the beginning of Licht’s friendship with Biden, which he describes in his book, “What I Learned When I Almost Died: How a Maniac TV Producer Put Down His BlackBerry and Started to Live His Life.” While Licht was still in the hospital, Biden periodically checked in with him and his wife. Biden ended up calling the hospital and connecting Licht with a top neurosurgeon, who quickly assessed the severity of Licht's condition and made treating the MSNBC producer a top priority. After Scarborough remembered that Biden had suffered two brain aneurysms, Brzezinski called the then-vice president, with whom she had a decades-long relationship. While there, he was visited by program hosts JOE SCARBOROUGH and MIKA BRZEZINSKI. In his 2011 memoir, CHRIS LICHT, then the executive producer of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” described how he suffered a brain aneurysm in 2010 and rushed to George Washington University hospital, where his life “moved closer to the abyss’ edge.” The new boss of CNN said he owes JOE BIDEN his life. Send tips | Subscribe here| Email Alex | Email Max Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.
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