(Bloomberg) -- CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned after failing to disclose a consensual relationship with a longtime co-worker, ending a nine-year run atop the cable news network.
Zucker, 56, made the announcement in a message to staff, according to an emailed copy obtained by Bloomberg. He said he was asked about the relationship as part of the network's investigation into former program host Chris Cuomo.
“I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years,” Zucker wrote. “I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong.”
The woman in the relationship is Allison Gollust, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for CNN. Both are divorced. She will stay on with the network.
“Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” Gollust said in a statement. “Recently, our relationship changed during Covid. I regret that we didn't disclose it at the right time. I'm incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday.”
Zucker has been a major player in the TV industry for decades and was known as a hands-on leader at CNN, routinely leading morning news meetings.
Under his leadership, CNN tried to portray itself as a source for straight news and distinguish itself from Comcast Corp's left-leaning MSNBC and the right-leaning Fox News. But Zucker also wanted to make the network more personality-driven, especially in prime-time, helping anchors like Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper become household names.
Recently, Zucker faced scrutiny after allowing Chris Cuomo to engage in friendly banter on air with his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, then waiting several months to fire him for his conduct in gathering information about sexual-harassment accusations against his brother.
Career Trajectory
Zucker's career took off when he became executive producer of NBC's “Today” show at 26 in 1992. He helped turn that program into a ratings leader, moving it to a new studio in Rockefeller Plaza and introducing outdoor concerts. He later ran all of NBCUniversal's TV businesses including entertainment, sports and cable. He joined CNN as president in 2013.
He helped bring “The Apprentice” to NBC, creating a media platform for future president Donald Trump. As president, Trump often attacked Zucker on Twitter for the network's critical coverage, but CNN, like other news channels, benefited greatly while he was in office, with ratings soaring. Those viewership numbers have plunged since Trump left, and now CNN will have to figure out how to draw new viewers without its longtime leader.
Zucker said a year ago that he planned to step down when his contract expired at the end of 2021. But he later recanted, saying he would stay at least until Discovery Inc. closed its merger with CNN's owner, AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia, which is expected in the second quarter of this year. There was speculation that Zucker might stay on at CNN after the deal closes because he is close friends with Discovery Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav.
His departure comes at a pivotal time for the channel. Not only is the cable network about to have a new owner and battling a steep ratings decline, it's planning to launch a new streaming service, CNN+, in the coming months. Zucker also oversaw sports programming at WarnerMedia, which is weeks away from its March Madness broadcast.
The company didn't immediately name a successor. Three current executives -- Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz -- will serve as interim co-heads for CNN through the Discovery merger, the network said.
CNN ranks a distant third behind Fox News and MSNBC in nightly prime-time ratings among the 24-hour news networks, according to data from Nielsen. The network is averaging 647,000 viewers a night in prime time this season, compared with 2.38 million a night for Fox and 1.17 million for MSNBC.
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