Failing…Upward?
By 
The voracious recruiters at CNN are at it again: This time, they’ve managed to coax veteran investigative reporter Eric Lichtblau from his perch at the New York Times. Lichtblau will serve as assistant managing editor at CNN’s Washington bureau. A memo from Lex Haris, executive editor of the unit titled “CNN Investigates,” describes Lichtblau’s player-coach job:
“In this role, Eric will guide our coverage and thinking on both short-term scoops and long-term projects,” notes Haris. “The goal: To make news on the most important story lines out of D.C. He will work with the reporters on the CNN Investigates team and coordinate with other teams in the Washington bureau. And when he’s onto a investigation, he’ll still be reporting and writing too.”
Yup, that Eric Lichtbau. Not only was his byline on the infamous October 31 “nothing to see here on Trump and Russia” story in which the NYT acted as a puke-funnel for the alt-right element of the FBI, his attempt to manufacture a Clinton Foundation scandal was pathetic even by Clinton Rules standards. The fact that he’lll have a “player-coach” role at CNN is pretty scary. And at CNN he’ll of course be joining Mr. Chris Cillizza.
The positive spin is that the Times and Post may be undergoing at least some degree of a “my God, what have I done?” moment. The negative spin is that two of the reporters whose botched reporting helped put Trump in the White House have gone on to jobs with more visibility that also probably pay better. The incentives here are…not great, Bob.