CNN's new president has promised changes and one of the latest includes curtailing the use of "breaking news" banners on the network, saying the ostensible crying of wolf is losing its impact.
"It has become such a fixture on every channel and network that its impact has become lost on the audience," CNN President Chris Licht wrote in a Thursday memo to staff, highlighting a change to the internal guidelines for what constitutes breaking news, The Hill reported.
"It certainly will need tweaks, so we are open to feedback, but this is a great starting point to try to make 'Breaking News' mean something BIG is happening."
Licht's memo said the changes come after meeting with locales and stake holders throughout the company and the world.
"Over the past four weeks, I've had the opportunity to meet hundreds of you in person and virtually," Licht's memo read, according to the report. "I look forward to more in the coming days and weeks as I travel to Atlanta, London, Los Angeles, and back to Washington this month.
"Our conversations have provided invaluable insight into the company and the issues on your minds. Thank you for your honesty and transparency — it's crucial to our success."
Among other notable changes is a new beat on "Guns in America."
"CNN is uniquely positioned to foster informed policy discussions in this space and help illuminate possible solutions to America’s epidemic of gun violence," the memo read.
Licht, who has vowed to improve the news reporting tradition at CNN, replaces former CNN President Jeff Zucker, whose checkered past included overseeing the Chris Cuomo scandal.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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