Chris Licht, Chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide speaks onstage during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2022 show at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 18, 2022 in New York City.
Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images
Nearly a week after CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump, CEO Chris Licht has acknowledged internally there are some things he wished the network had done differently.
Licht continues to stand by the concept of the town hall, telling people both inside and outside of CNN that history will look kindly on the network’s decision to interview Trump in front of cheering supporters in a live town hall format.
But there are several production elements that he would have liked done in a different way, according to people familiar with his thinking.
Licht wished CNN had introduced the in-person audience to TV watchers so that viewers could better identify who they were, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions were private.
The crowd was a main character in the event as many Trump supporters cheered his responses and jeered CNN host Kaitlan Collins when she challenged him. Licht would have liked to openly question the crowd before the town hall began so the TV audience could better understand who they were and why they were supporting Trump, said the people.
Licht and other CNN executives also pointed to direction elements CNN could have done differently, such as focusing the camera only on Collins when she tried to fight off Trump’s lies about election fraud in 2020, rather than using wide shots on both Trump and Collins. That way, CNN could draw the audience’s focus to the substance of the question rather than the spectacle of Trump. CNN could have also graphically shown each question while Trump spoke, emphasizing his answers didn’t always match the topic at hand.
Licht was also displeased with the post-show tone from CNN’s anchors and panelists, said the people. The panel, co-hosted by CNN anchors including Jake Tapper and Anderson…
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