How much of a boost did CNN receive from Wednesday's town hall with former President Donald Trump?
The struggling network won the 8 p.m. hour and lead the day in the cherished 25-54 age demographic. By Thursday, CNN has shed 80 percent of its prime time viewers from Wednesday.
While network executives were undoubtedly thrilled, CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy joined the leftist outrage mob, saying of the town hall: “It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.”
CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht reportedly eviscerated Darcy over his critical coverage.
Puck’s Dylan Byers reported Friday that Licht “summoned” Darcy “and his editor to a meeting with himself and top executives in which they told him that his coverage of Trump town hall had been too emotional and stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate.”
“Darcy stood by his work and pushed back on the ‘emotional’ characterization, one source with knowledge of the meeting said. But afterward two sources who heard about the meeting described him as visibly shaken,” Byers reported.
“They put the fear of God into him,” Byers cited another source as saying.
Darcy reportedly considered departing the network after he was scolded by Licht, prompting CNN to declare he "does not intend to resign."
"In the aftermath of the meeting and coverage, Darcy has wondered to colleagues whether he should resign or if he will be fired by the network," Semafor reported in its media newsletter.
"Oliver does not intend to resign and his newsletter will be out per usual this evening," a CNN spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Darcy has taken over as the sole author of CNN's media newsletter since former "Reliable Sources" host Brian Stelter was fired last year. Darcy heavily focuses on conservative media in his coverage and often takes a critical tone.
A source told Fox News Digital that Licht had received a "ton" of messages from CNN staffers who were appalled by Darcy's newsletter.
"I'm asking you to not be emotional," the source paraphrased what Licht told Darcy at the meeting, adding that Licht wanted non-emotional coverage applied to all news outlets, not just CNN.
SCOOP @PuckNews: CNN's Chris Licht summoned @OliverDarcy and his editor to a meeting with himself and top executives in which they told him that his coverage of Trump town hall had been too emotional and stressed the importance of remaining dispassionate: https://t.co/R0dgcOmgGa
— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) May 12, 2023
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