What does CNN think it’s doing?

For years now, on New Year’s Eve, millions have gathered around their television sets to ring in the New Year with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. There are many reasons why people enjoy this yearly broadcast. Few can deny these two are often hilarious. But it’s more than that.

The CNN New Year’s show is inclusive. When one tunes in, one can usually see not just Cooper and Cohen but the people of Times Square who have made the decision to see in the new year in the city that never sleeps. It’s a fun way to spend the last night of the year.

Often the camera flips back and forth to other states. On the bottom of the screen are texts from happy people wishing a happy new year to their families. It is a celebration and a perfect way to ring in the new year. Not this year.

I want to be very clear — Cooper and Cohen were wonderful, as always. But there was a big problem — the censoring. I loathe censoring. So do thousands of others who made their displeasure with CNN known on social media.

The first issue was the fact that Chris Licht forbade anyone affiliated with CNN to drink on air. Instead, CNN bizarrely proved the two hosts with — um — juice bags. I kid you not. It was painful. Cooper and Cohen gamely carried on and deserved lots of credit, but the whole format was off.

Gone were the clips of happy audience members. Gone were the salutations of happy new year in the form of joyful CNN texts. There was nothing at the bottom of the screen. The camera mostly stayed on Cooper and Cohen the whole time, making the entire production appear stilted and rather joyless.

This all happened because, reportedly, Chris Licht worried that CNN’s credibility would be lost if the show continued as is. I say — if it’s not broken — don’t fix it. It boggles my mind that the higher-ups could be so utterly clueless. Many on Twitter were bitter, begging CNN, “please STOP CENSORING YOUR JOURNALISTS.” CNN needs to get its act together. I do not hold out much hope of THAT happening anytime soon.