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Jeff Zucker Out At CNN


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Jeff Zucker Exits CNN After Relationship With Senior Executive
The relationship came up during the network’s investigation into the former anchor Chris Cuomo. “I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t,” Mr. Zucker wrote in a memo to colleagues.

 

Quote

In a memo to colleagues that was obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Zucker wrote that his relationship came up during a network investigation into the conduct of Chris Cuomo, the CNN anchor who was fired in December over his involvement in the political affairs of his brother, former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York.

 

“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,” Mr. Zucker wrote. “I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong.”

 

“As a result, I am resigning today,” he wrote.

 

Mr. Zucker was referring to Allison Gollust, CNN’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer and one of the highest-ranking leaders of the network, who is closely involved in major business and communications decisions.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/business/media/jeff-zucker-cnn.html

 

That makes things quite interesting.

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Why is Allison Gollust remaining in her job?

Was Jeff's resignation actually about this relationship or was it about something else?

 

Don't forget this part:

"Gollust joined CNN in March 2013 as SVP of Communications, not long after Zucker joined as President of the Network. She earned the title of Chief Marketing Officer months later, and rose to EVP. In between stops at NBCUniversal and CNN, Gollust served as communications director for then-New York governor Andrew Cuomo. However, Gollust left that role after only four months to reunite with Zucker." ----- So here's the deal, She can't stay away from him, she's shown everyone that. Not to mention this relationship WILL undoubtably continue, as far as I'm concerned she is compromised, she will be doing what he would, seek advice from him, continue his plans and "leadership" style. She has to be fired (or at least resign) in order for CNN to keep the last ounce of credibility it still has left.

 

I'm willing to bet someone with the last name Cuomo was involved in sharing this information, interesting for it to come out during the investigation into Chris. 

Either way I'm glad Jeff is gone, he needs to be the first of many changes made at the network. Bye Jeff, we won't miss you.

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1 hour ago, iron_lion said:

I'm happy Zucker is out based on the way he ran CNN. The question is will CNN drop it's hyperbole hyper-partisan-  excessively political coverage or will it be same script different cast?

I would not be surprised that they'll still remain MSNBC Jr, as its more practical and brings in more numbers....

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21 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

I don’t entirely understand the Zucker hate. Was CNN not supposed to evolve to keep up with their competition at Fox?

Zucker is a money orientated, overrated, hypocritical and undisciplined "executive" who failed at every job he was given. Anybody remember when NBC was last place? it was Jeff Zucker's fault.

 

nuff said.

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31 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

I don’t entirely understand the Zucker hate. Was CNN not supposed to evolve to keep up with their competition at Fox?

I understand what you're saying, first priority at the end of the day is ratings and profits, but two wrongs don't make a right. Just because Fox News is winning in the ratings via a politically inflammatory and biased approach to journalism, doesn't mean you should sell your soul to keep up. CNN is not alone in this (MSNBC👀). 

 

I think the issue is that under Zucker's leadership CNN turned into the network that spent hours hypothesizing on the whereabouts of a missing plane to the point where Don Lemon questioned whether supernatural forces could've been behind its disappearance. Yes they try to hold Trump to account -- which is what the media is supposed to do for every president-- but having almost all of their live coverage be devoted to "orange man bad" on a loop was excessive. 

 

Plus scream television where opposing guests come on the air to berate each other "McLaughlin Group" style was more entertainment than news.

Let's not forget these L3's: 

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13 minutes ago, iron_lion said:

I think the issue is that under Zucker's leadership CNN turned into the network that spent hours hypothesizing on the whereabouts of a missing plane to the point where Don Lemon questioned whether supernatural forces could've been behind its disappearance.

Glad you brought this up, @iron_lion; there's a GREAT 2016 article by Richard Quest in a magazine called Flying (which obviously is about aviation) that explains the why of CNN's over-coverage, if you want to call it that, of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight you're referring to: https://www.flyingmag.com/vanishing-flight-mh370-inside-story-cnns-coverage/ (It's actually an excerpt from his 2016 book about the missing flight, but it is WORTH the read!!!)

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@J1975am the most telling line from that excerpt: But there would be changes. No longer would we have a smorgasbord of stories, dipping in here and there. When there was a big story that resonated with viewers, CNN would dramatically ramp up coverage, or, as Zucker described it to me, “go all in on it.” (Richard Quest, CNN host)

 

Instead of utilizing a 24 hour television network to cover the expansive array of stories across the globe, let's just focus on one story and blow it out of proportion. That accurately describes their political coverage from 2015 onwards, not to mention COVID. Speculation ladened commentary is not something created by Zucker but it was certainly exacerbated during his tenure on the network. 

 

I'd say the best thing to come out of CNN the past few years were it's documentaries like "The Story of Late Night" which have been pretty decent (Quest discusses them in the preceding paragraph). 

 

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/cnn-pregnancy-test/2772819

SNL like CNN has its own biases,  but they nailed it on the CNN "pregnancy test skit". The character said something along the lines of  "instead of just giving constant updates of nothing why not just come back to me when you have something substantial." 

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4 hours ago, iron_lion said:

@J1975am the most telling line from that excerpt: But there would be changes. No longer would we have a smorgasbord of stories, dipping in here and there. When there was a big story that resonated with viewers, CNN would dramatically ramp up coverage, or, as Zucker described it to me, “go all in on it.” (Richard Quest, CNN host)

 

Instead of utilizing a 24 hour television network to cover the expansive array of stories across the globe, let's just focus on one story and blow it out of proportion. That accurately describes their political coverage from 2015 onwards, not to mention COVID. Speculation ladened commentary is not something created by Zucker but it was certainly exacerbated during his tenure on the network. 

 

I'd say the best thing to come out of CNN the past few years were it's documentaries like "The Story of Late Nite" which have been pretty decent (Quest discusses them in the preceding paragraph). 

 

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/cnn-pregnancy-test/2772819

SNL like CNN has its own biases,  but they nailed it on the CNN "pregnancy test skit". The character said something along the lines of  "instead of just giving constant updates of nothing why not just come back to me when you have something substantial." 

Thanks for telling me; I forgot all about the sketch! 😁

There was also an SNL sketch that poked fun at Jake Tapper & Kellyanne Conway (the sketch was a takeoff of “Fatal Attraction”); Beck Bennett & Kate McKinnon were brilliant in this sketch! (Best part: McKinnon’s delivery of the line “I’m not gonna be ignored, Jake!”). 😆

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8 hours ago, jrogo said:

Why is Allison Gollust remaining in her job?

 

I think it's comes down to what the HR rules are for CNN (WarnerMedia) concerning relationships between employees. Does not disclosing you're in a relationship warrant disciplinary action (including termination)? Unless there were rules broken, she couldn't (shouldn't) be fired.  

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4 hours ago, jase said:

 

I think it's comes down to what the HR rules are for CNN (WarnerMedia) concerning relationships between employees. Does not disclosing you're in a relationship warrant disciplinary action (including termination)? Unless there were rules broken, she couldn't (shouldn't) be fired.  

That’s why Zuckerberg was canned. He didn’t disclose. She should be canned too. I can’t see how she retains any credibility within CNN or outside. They need to clean house. Rebuild trust. Especially with CNN employees.  

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1 hour ago, Metrodonmartin said:

That’s why Zuckerberg was canned. He didn’t disclose. She should be canned too. I can’t see how she retains any credibility within CNN or outside. They need to clean house. Rebuild trust. Especially with CNN employees.  


There’s definitely more behind Zucker’s forced exit at CNN than this relationship. This is just the beginning it seems and hopefully more light is shed on this.

 

Given that Gollust was Zucker’s subordinate and not his boss, again, there would have to be a clear and direct violation of company policy to justify termination. ‘Lack of credibility’ wouldn’t be enough.

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22 hours ago, jase said:


There’s definitely more behind Zucker’s forced exit at CNN than this relationship. This is just the beginning it seems and hopefully more light is shed on this.

 

Given that Gollust was Zucker’s subordinate and not his boss, again, there would have to be a clear and direct violation of company policy to justify termination. ‘Lack of credibility’ wouldn’t be enough.

Not only that Gollust was a former staffer of Andrew Cuomo, whose brother was advising him unbeknownst to CNN management...unless Zucker knew of that.

 

As for the breach of company policy, unless Warner Media discloses that outright, we wouldn't know

 

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23 hours ago, jase said:


There’s definitely more behind Zucker’s forced exit at CNN than this relationship. This is just the beginning it seems and hopefully more light is shed on this.

 

Given that Gollust was Zucker’s subordinate and not his boss, again, there would have to be a clear and direct violation of company policy to justify termination. ‘Lack of credibility’ wouldn’t be enough.

Agreed. There’s more to it with Zucker. New owners wanted him out. But he and 

his subordinate/girlfriend violated TIME/WARNER policy. She needs to go too. I can’t see her lasting long. Especially once the merger is complete. Most likely many will be replaced by new leaders by new folks. CNN needs to return to its roots.  News. Get rid of most of the opinion show BS. Do news. Do it well. Be consistent. Be reliable. Be fair. There has been and still is a market for that. Now, more than ever. 

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On 2/2/2022 at 3:12 PM, MorningNews said:

I don’t entirely understand the Zucker hate. Was CNN not supposed to evolve to keep up with their competition at Fox?

Most of the hate comes from a bunch people on a TV news message board.  Reading the posts on here, you'd think the guy invented cancer.

 

To the rest of the world, he was an exceptional leader.  He brought the network to new heights, achieving great success.  He recruited and retained exceptional talent, many of whom remain loyal to him.  He defended the network and its talent against vitriolic assaults, and allowed the network to cover the news based on truth and reality, not just equal coverage in the name of covering "all sides."

 

No, not everyone liked his approach.  But he turned things around at CNN.

 

On 2/2/2022 at 3:34 PM, TVLurker said:

Zucker is a money orientated, overrated, hypocritical and undisciplined "executive" who failed at every job he was given. Anybody remember when NBC was last place? it was Jeff Zucker's fault.

 

nuff said.

If you're the president of a television network, your job literally is to be money oriented.  Increase ratings.  Sell more ads.  Especially a cable network.

 

Some of you are under a fantasy spell in which Jeff Zucker is a failure because he didn't run the news division like Walter Cronkite.  

 

It's not Zucker.  It's the industry.  Have you watched World News Tonight in the last 10 years?  Every story is "breaking as we come on the air tonight."

 

If you want zero sensationalism, turn on CBS News, which is in last place of the major networks.

 

 

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1 hour ago, mountainave said:

It's not Zucker.  It's the industry.  Have you watched World News Tonight in the last 10 years?  Every story is "breaking as we come on the air tonight."

 

I have and it works for it's audience, CNN may have needed change but not one that damaged it's credibility. in terms of modern news people, I'm looking for someone like Lester Holt not Jeff Zucker.

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1 hour ago, mountainave said:

Some of you are under a fantasy spell in which Jeff Zucker is a failure because he didn't run the news division like Walter Cronkite.  

 

It's not Zucker.  It's the industry.  Have you watched World News Tonight in the last 10 years?  Every story is "breaking as we come on the air tonight."

 

If you want zero sensationalism, turn on CBS News, which is in last place of the major networks.

 

 

That's why I'm sure that even with Jeff Zucker gone, his influence at CNN will continue to make itself known because it draws viewers. Just look at Bill Shine forcing NewsNation to dip its toes into the Fox News pool.....

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On 2/4/2022 at 3:39 PM, mountainave said:

If you're the president of a television network, your job literally is to be money oriented.  Increase ratings.  Sell more ads.  Especially a cable network.

Yes Zucker brought numbers in around his over-blown coverage events, yes it is the primary goal of a network leader to bring in profits, but the questions remain:  how low is a network willing to stoop for ratings and profits? Do credibility/quality and ratings/profits have to be mutually exclusive? 

On 2/4/2022 at 3:39 PM, mountainave said:

It's not Zucker.  It's the industry.  Have you watched World News Tonight in the last 10 years?  Every story is "breaking as we come on the air tonight."

Agreed. Zucker is not alone in his practices. The industry as a whole is bad. I doubt no-more-Jeff is going to stop ABC News from using "shocking video" to introduce every story, or stop NBC Nightly News from labeling  every story up to the first commercial break as "breaking news". It won't even stop MSNBC from repeating that "January 6th was an assault on our democracy" for 15 hours straight. The entire industry would have to change format and in order to cultivate an audience around higher quality journalism. I can't see that happening anytime soon.

On 2/4/2022 at 3:39 PM, mountainave said:

If you want zero sensationalism, turn on CBS News, which is in last place of the major networks.

60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning which beat their competitors prove there is still a strong appetite for decent journalism. 

 

Yes, CNN got a few bumps with the Trump and Malaysia Plane hype. If I were  a executive seeing how well Fox is doing by preaching to their choir, I would be tempted to also stop trying to please all sides and cater to a specific audience. 

 

If it works, that's on the audience.  It's up to the viewers to leave their echo chambers then seek out and demand better quality balanced journalism,  which gives them a broader view of the world and not just a biased lens on a few over blown subjects. 

On 2/4/2022 at 3:39 PM, mountainave said:

He defended the network and its talent against vitriolic assaults, and allowed the network to cover the news based on truth and reality, not just equal coverage in the name of covering "all sides."

CNN and it's hysterical, scream tv, non stop Trump airtime feeds into the culture of political vitriol and uncivil discourse it supposedly aims to call out. 

 

Killer Mike (who has been a well received guest on the network) even called them out during the ATL George Floyd protests, when the network headquarters were targeted. "CNN? Ted did a great thing. I love CNN. I love Cartoon Network. But, I’d like to say to CNN right now: karma’s a mother. Stop feeding fear and anger every day. Stop making people feel so fearful..."

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On 2/4/2022 at 3:39 PM, mountainave said:

If you want zero sensationalism, turn on CBS News, which is in last place of the major networks.

Turn on PBS Newshour instead. A majority of people don't know this exists, but it's better than any commercial news offering out there. 

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8 hours ago, TheSpeedKing said:

Turn on PBS Newshour instead. A majority of people don't know this exists, but it's better than any commercial news offering out there. 

Forget that. Turn on the program that proceeds it: BBC World News America. Ros Atkins and Laura could kick all of those network national news anchors' ass journalism-wise

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