Newhouse School alumnus Chris Licht has been tapped as the next chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide.
The 1993 graduate of Newhouse’s broadcast and digital journalism program was a co-creator of “Morning Joe” and in 2011 became vice president of programming at CBS News, where he served as executive producer of “CBS This Morning.” He assumed his current position as showrunner for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in 2016, and is widely credited with leading the show to No. 1 late night ratings.
After news of Licht’s move to CNN became public, Colbert paid tribute to Licht on the air, telling him, “There are bosses and there are leaders. Bosses tell you what to do. Leaders work as hard as you do to do what needs to be done. And that’s what you did.”
Licht, who sits on the Newhouse Advisory Board, has maintained close ties with the school. In May 2020, he participated in a Newhouse-hosted live virtual event, during which he discussed producing from home during the COVID lockdown, his journey from hard news to entertainment and his time as a Syracuse University student.
“The biggest thing I learned at Syracuse is people—interacting with people and holding yourself up against the best in the business… it definitely fueled my competitive spirit.”
The event also included a surprise appearance by Colbert.