Good evening, I’m Dylan Byers.

Welcome back to In The Room, my bi-weekly private email on the inner workings of the media industry. Today, we pull back to 30,000 feet to take the long view on Chris Licht’s master plan for CNN—and why, whether it succeeds or fails, it may prove to be a lot more interesting than anything else happening on cable news.

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In the four decades since, CNN has certainly succeeded in becoming the leading global news network, with a far larger footprint than any of its rivals. In that regard, at least, CNN has provided people around the world with a shared record of the day's news, and a common perspective on historical events for anyone who cares to watch.

But here in the United States, CNN’s quest to foster brotherhood and friendship among citizens has proved elusive. For one thing, Turner’s proclamation was granted in simpler, pre-omni-channel times...