The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog.

Recently defenestrated Chris Licht is now the former CNN chair and CEO. He had been successful in his previous roles, including show-running the Stephen Colbert show, but he was in over his head – running one of the the three major cable news networks. Licht’s initial goal was right on target: avoid the hyper-partisanship of MSNBC and Fox and better separate news from opinion (all the news media could use a dose of that). But his blunders were dramatic.

One of my first annoyances was his swift move to fire Brian Stelter, host of Reliable Sources. Now, though arguably everyone’s a media critic, few are doing serious media criticism. At the same time, Licht canned highly respected and Trump-critical reporter John Harwood. Then, in another blow to serious broadcast journalism, he terminated CNN’s documentary series to save money. He also carried out Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to kill CNN+, a streaming service that died in its infancy. What he created was a frothy new morning show that makes ABC’s Good Morning America look like BBC America.

Perhaps the most egregious lapse in Licht’s judgment was the CNN Town Hall with Donald Trump, giving the former President 90 minutes of national exposure for wall-to-wall lies and misstatements with little to no simultaneous fact-checking, despite the best efforts of determined host Kaitlan Collins. Worse, the apparently cherry-picked MAGA audience was encouraged to cheer on Trump’s bullying and prevarication. On Tuesday, the day before Licht was fired, CNN covered former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s campaign launch but cut away in the middle of a surprisingly thoughtful presentation before Christie made the actual announcement of his Presidential bid. Would Licht have treated Trump the same way?

These were just the mistakes the audience could see. Recent press accounts, especially by Tim Alberta in The Atlantic, enumerate the many errors Licht made behind the scenes. And now he is gone.

CNN’s founding mission statement was to “inform, engage and empower” a global audience. “To bear witness to history as it unfolds and explain what happened, and why, and what it means to you.” It started out as a well-regarded and largely credible source for international coverage. But that standard has been less available for its domestic audience.

Even before Licht, CNN was on a downward trajectory. It got downright silly at times with its constant banners announcing “breaking news” and artificially engineering “crises.” Its business model didn’t depend on showcasing serious news journalism, careful reporting, thoughtful explainers of complex issues or the fruits of time-consuming and costly investigative research. Instead, it increasingly relied on a low cost junk-food diet of inadequately informed talking heads, partisan hacks and bloviators shilling their books or engaging in panelist food fights. (On its worst segments, WCVB’s Five on Five never sunk so low, though we did get noisy on occasion.)

Going forward, CNN faces financial difficulties, with declining audiences, shrinking profits and waning public trust. It seems there’s no place to go but up.

What would I like to see from CNN? Provide solid journalism, which, according to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Carl Bernstein is the search for the “best obtainable version of the truth.” Make good on the promise of separating news from opinion. And, when you present opinion, make sure it’s based on facts, notwithstanding reasonable differences in interpretation.

Reject the left-wing obsessions and reflexive “progressive”/ woke extremism of MSNBC. By all means, turn thumbs down on the rampant know-nothing nativism and hysterical conspiracy panderers of Fox. (Given their public statements in the last year, I’m concerned that libertarian right-wing billionaire John Malone and his ally David Zaslav, CEO of CNN’s parent company, will try to turn CNN into a bottom-line driven financially successful Fox lite. Licht’s stated belief that Warner Bros. Discovery regarded CNN as a “reputational asset” and “non-profit growth driver” was incredibly naive.)

For a change, present all sides of an issue. Yes, there are often more than just the pro and the con. Reacquaint people with the concept of nuance, giving them the tools to think. But remember that being even-handed doesn’t mean falling into the trap of false equivalencies. There are still clear-cut rights and wrongs, truths and lies.

Well over a third of the country self-identify as moderates. I’d like to believe they are also people who want the news media to provide the facts and let them make up their own minds. Sadly, there’s too much evidence that people generally want to hear news that reinforces their own world views. So, I’m not optimistic. But CNN has an opportunity to remake the face of cable news. Let’s hope they have the courage to do it, and help us all in the process.