CNN Reporters Told to Stay Sober This New Year’s Eve

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On Tuesday CEO of CNN, Chris Licht told employees during a town hall meeting that he believes drinking on camera hurts CNN’s credibility and damages its reporters’ “respectability” as reported by Variety. This will be Licht’s first New Year’s Eve broadcast. Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia also brought changes the CNN including the announcement of Licht as the new CEO back in May. 

The announcement that reporters cannot drink on air comes despite the traction CNN has gained in recent years on social media, especially in relation to Don Lemon. The CNN coverage of New Year’s Eve has been reported on by Lemon for several years now. Many of his inebriated antics have gone viral. 

 “I don’t give a s— what you think about me, what do you think about that.” said Lemon this past year in an address his hater. He continued, “I don’t care, I’m a grown-ass man, and I don’t care what you think about me.”

The rant gained a lot of attention on social media. Lemon has recently changed roles from primetime to CNN This Morning. It is unclear if this change of role will also mean he will not be a part of the New Year’s celebration. 

However, Licht’s announcement does not appear to affect the hosts of the celebration. Anderson Cooper has hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage since 2002 and Andy Cohen joined him as host in 2018. The two get quite a lot of attention themselves with Cohen convincing Cooper to take shots on air. This past year included Cohen going on a rant about NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio while Cooper looked on awkwardly. 

Cohen and Cooper will return to host CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage this year. However, CNN hasn’t announced the reporters who will cover the night’s festivities while staying completely sober on one of the booziest nights of the year.

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