CNN President Jeff Zucker resigns, citing relationship with colleague

CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned from the cable news network, citing his failure to disclose a consensual relationship with a close colleague, cutting short a nine-year tenure during which he helped transform the network’s role in the cable-news landscape. “I came to CNN on January 28, 2013,” Mr. Zucker wrote in an email he sent to staff on Wednesday. “Together, we had nine great years. I certainly wish my tenure here had ended differently. But it was an amazing run. And I loved every minute.” During a web call on Wednesday afternoon, Jason Kilar, chief executive of CNN parent WarnerMedia, told a group of CNN brass still reeling from news of Mr. Zucker’s departure that a trio of CNN executives would lead the network on an interim basis, according to people familiar with the situation.

Michael Bass, executive vice president of programming, Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent, and executive vice president Ken Jautz will be in charge of CNN until a new executive is named, the people said. Mr. Zucker’s successors will have to steer a network that is grappling with declining ratings as it also prepares to jump into the streaming wars with a new subscription service, CNN+, under future owner Warner Bros. Discovery. The colleague Mr. Zucker referred to in his email is Allison Gollust, an executive vice president and chief marketing officer at CNN. In a statement, Ms. Gollust said that she and Mr. Zucker have been friends for over 20 years and said that the relationship changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time,” Ms. Gollust said. “I’m incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday.” Both Ms. Gollust and Mr. Zucker are divorced.