During Yahoo Finance Conference, Chris Licht Discusses the Future of Media and Entertainment

Chris Licht contemplates future of media and entertainment — navigating challenges in cable news, trust in media, how to take advantage of an environment for innovative, fact driven platforms.

Former CNN CEO Chris Licht, who has spent the last 18 months in introspection and new endeavors, gave a keynote speech on the evolution of media and entertainment during the Yahoo Finance Invest conference held in New York City on Tuesday.

Licht, an executive with enormous experience in the media and entertainment sector, shared and talked about his work advising and educating others, and doing some of his hobbies. Although, he did suggest the possibility of getting back in business. “Whatever I do next, I don’t want it to be something that isn’t building and forward-looking,” Licht said, mindful of the current and future trends in media and entertainment.

He pointed out the increase in content need, be it news or entertainment, and the evolution from the old ways. Whereas optimistic of the inspirational prospects, Licht cautioned that the conventional system especially cable news is growing more difficult. “People have lost trust in legacy media,” anguish over the conflation of opinion with facts.

Licht suggested that future media and entertainment could offer a “trusted truth” space to resolve the issue of facts and opinions being indistinguishable. He envisioned a scenario where data becomes abundant, akin to a specialized Bloomberg Terminal focusing solely on factual information for users' complex tasks.

It is anybody’s guess what his next role will entail, but Licht is optimistic that there is plenty of scope for change and development in the media and entertainment industry.