The CNN chief messed up in many ways. Only one of them was fatal | Margaret Sullivan

It's possible - likely, even - that Licht would have survived all of this if it weren't for the one thing that really mattered: the numbers

It was one of those pieces of news that was simultaneously stunning and utterly expected: Chris Licht was out of CNN.

No doubt, the chairman and CEO had been embattled, almost from the start of his tumultuous year-long reign. He took over from Jeff Zucker, who - whatever his faults - was popular with the staff because he understood what they did and supported it. Soon after arriving, Licht went on an ill-advised apology tour on Capitol Hill in which he sent the message that Republican lawmakers - even those who had supported overturning the 2020 election or downplayed the 6 January 2021 insurrection - would be welcome and treated well on the network.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture