CNN President Jeff Zucker resigns

CNN President Jeff Zucker resigns, citing undisclosed relationship with colleague
Zucker said that he should have disclosed a “consensual relationship" with a close colleague.
The Washington Post
By Jeremy Barr
Today at 11:11 a.m. EST | Updated today at 12:58 p.m. EST


CNN president Jeff Zucker announced to a stunned staff on Wednesday morning that he is immediately resigning from his role at the cable news network, which he has led since January 2013.

He said in a statement that his decision stemmed from him not disclosing a “consensual relationship” with his “closest colleague” when it first began.

“I certainly wish my tenure here had ended differently,” Zucker wrote. “But it was an amazing run. And I loved every minute of it.”

The decision stems from Zucker’s relationship with Allison Gollust, the executive vice president and chief marketing officer for CNN Worldwide.

Gollust released a statement about Zucker’s resignation on Wednesday. “Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years," she said. “Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time.”

A source familiar with the situation said that Zucker was asked to resign by Jason Kilar, the chief executive of WarnerMedia, which owns CNN. In a memo to employees, Kilar wrote that he “accepted Jeff Zucker’s resignation” and thanked him “for his contributions over the past 9 years."

CNN interrupted its live broadcast with news of the resignation shortly after it was made public. The network’s chief media correspondent Brian Stelter read Zucker’s memo as well as the statement from Gollust, who he said was remaining with the company.

Zucker, who also served as chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports, had initially been expected to leave his role at the network at the end of 2021, but decided to prolong his tenure after plans were announced last spring for media conglomerate Discovery, Inc. to combine with WarnerMedia assets. That deal has not yet been completed, but Zucker had told staff in a town hall meeting in December that it was likely to close “sometime this spring.” Some industry observers expected Zucker to continue with the company due to his close relationship with Discovery chief executive David M. Zaslav, who will run the combined television and online media outfit.

Zucker said that his relationship was probed following the network’s decision to fire anchor Chris Cuomo in early December. “As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,” he said. “I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong.”

Cuomo was fired for not adequately disclosing that he was more extensively involved in helping to defend his brother, then-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D), against allegations of sexual misconduct than he had acknowledged — either publicly or to CNN management. (Gollust served as communications director for the then-governor prior to joining CNN.)

The law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore completed the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s conduct, which had also turned up an allegation of sexual misconduct made by a former colleague at another network — though the specifics of the allegation have not been revealed.

Zucker had told colleagues following Cuomo’s firing that the law firm would explore the woman’s allegations “as it relates to CNN.” The network had not released any further details regarding the results of that particular probe.

Following his termination, a spokesperson for the fired CNN anchor said that Zucker and Cuomo had been in regular contact about the host’s involvement with his brother’s political crisis — a notion that CNN management strongly contested. Zucker had framed Cuomo’s lack of candor as a betrayal, noting that “he gave me his word that there was no involvement” beyond advice and support to his brother.

Gollust joined CNN in 2013, shortly after Zucker took over, and an announcement at the time said they would be “working closely” together.

The close relationship between Zucker and Gollust was known to many CNN employees and had been gossiped about in tabloid publications. In her recent memoir, former “Today” show co-anchor Katie Couric, who worked with both of them, dropped heavy hints about the relationship. Describing a “huge push” from Zucker to hire Gollust when Couric and Zucker were launching Couric’s short lived talk show, Katie, in 2012, Couric wrote that Zucker and Gollust “were joined at the hip” at NBC and afterwards.

A 2017 item in the tabloid Page Six described a “heated exchange” between them at a media industry party in New York City.

Before taking over CNN, Zucker spent four years as the chief executive of media conglomerate NBCUniversal, the capstone of a lengthy tenure at the company that saw him rise through the ranks and become an executive producer of the “Today” morning show.

Despite being a target of criticism for former president Donald Trump and his supporters, Zucker was largely popular with CNN employees, who valued his hands-on touch and passion for the news business.

Some of the network’s biggest anchors and hosts expressed regret over Zucker’s departure. "We are all shattered,” afternoon anchor Alisyn Camerota told The Post. “Jeff is a remarkable person and boss — he has a way of making everyone at CNN feel valuable and special. I will miss his guidance and compassion in this challenging news climate more than words can say. “

“I am devastated," primetime anchor Don Lemon told Variety, calling Zucker “one of the best things that has ever happened to CNN. There are probably going to be a lot of nervous people at CNN because Jeff is really the glue there.”

Kilar told employees on Wednesday afternoon that CNN’s “interim co-heads” will be executive vice president of programming Michael Bass, executive vice president for talent and content development Amy Entelis, and executive vice president Ken Jautz. The executives will oversee the network “through the close of the pending transaction with Discovery," he said, adding that he “has full confidence” in them.

Tension between Zucker and Kilar had been building for years, according to a CNN personality close to Zucker. As first reported by The Wall Street Journal, once Kilar took on the top job WarnerMedia job, he reorganized CNN and trimmed some of Zucker’s responsibilities, including oversight of CNN’s finances, human resources and communications. One effect of the move was to remove Gollust from Zucker’s direct oversight in the company structure.

Under Zucker, CNN focused intently on Trump, starting with his presidential campaign in mid-2015. The network often aired Trump’s raucous campaign rallies from start to finish, helping him emerge from a crowded field of candidates. Zucker later said he regretted giving Trump so much attention.

Trump returned CNN’s attention by repeatedly calling its reporting and commentary “fake news.” He occasionally went after Zucker directly, referring to him on Twitter as “Little Jeff Z.”

Trump released a statement on Wednesday celebrating Zucker’s departure and calling him “a world-class sleazebag.”

The public feuding belied a long and mutually fruitful association for both men: As president of NBC’s entertainment division in 2003, Zucker oversaw the network’s launch of “The Apprentice,” the boardroom reality show that featured Trump. (NBC is also where Zucker apparently met Gollust, who started working there in the 1990s.)

Zucker took over CNN in 2013 and quickly set about remaking it. At the time, the network that had defined 24-hour TV news was adrift, sometimes finishing not only behind rivals Fox News and MSNBC in the ratings, but also HLN, a sister network that specialized in lurid court trials. The network’s annual advertising revenue had fallen alarmingly, by about 10 percent.

In 2020, CNN recorded its largest audience since its founding in 1980, buoyed by coverage of the presidential campaign and the raging coronavirus pandemic — though, like other cable news networks, it struggled to achieve those same view totals in 2021.

“I came to CNN on January 28, 2013. Together, we had nine great years,” Zucker wrote to staffers. "I am grateful to the thousands of incredibly talented CNN and Turner Sports employees who helped make this such a joy for me, and such a success for all of us. I wish each of you nothing but the best in the years ahead.

Zucker’s sudden resignation comes at a particularly sensitive time for CNN, which is gearing up to launch the CNN+ streaming service by late March. The network has hired several high-profile news personalities for the service, including former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, former “All Things Considered” co-host Audie Cornish and former MSNBC anchor Kasie Hunt.

Slow news day?

Okay it's weird that a company can *require* you to inform HR any time you boink a colleague, but THAT story doesn't need so much detail about any particular incident (unless something about it was shady, which this one apparently wasn't).

So where's the article covering the extent to which companies and the government now pry into and intrude on our lives while everybody just acts as if that's fucking normal? I might find that story at least somewhat interesting, depending on whether or not they try to spin it in favor of a pro-corporate narrative.

The story about whats-his-name bumping uglies with whats-her-name is a yawnfest.

I give less than zero fucks about any of those people.

That's the best excuse they could think of for canning his ass because he ran the company into the ground?

Oh look- they've introduced even more people I give less than zero fucks about to the story I originally gave less than zero fucks about.

Are there any odder people than the ones in a cult of celebrity worship?

The people in cults of superstition are usually more dangerous than the fame-bedazzled (with a few notable exceptions), primarily because they're so bloody numerous, but for sheer unmitigated bizarre cognition you'll have a difficult time finding anything to top the braindead hordes of shallow thinkers who obsess over celebrities of whatever stripe be they political, entertainers, etc.

I know I've said it before and I'll no doubt say it again:

Humans are really really weird.