Jeff Zucker's CNN Legacy
Issue #76 (Special Edition)
LEAD STORY
Jeff Zucker’s CNN Legacy
The news shook the media world when it dropped, almost rattling it to its core; if this could have been measured on the Richter scale, then it would have been recorded as a magnitude 7.0 and above. It was that big!
The news, of course, is Jeff Zucker's sudden resignation as the head of CNN and Turner Sports.
No one saw it coming, and no one expected his tenure to end this way, but it did, and the ramifications of this move are still being felt. The network is just weeks away from launching its most ambitious project in years, CNN Plus, and they still haven’t filled their 9 pm ET slot vacated by Chris Cuomo, who Zucker recently fired.
CNN employees are still trying to come to terms with the new world they are facing — they are feeling it more as Zucker has been with them for the past nine years.
They are not accepting that Zucker would be forced to resign because he did not disclose his consensual relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s executive VP and chief marketing officer. It’s too simple of a reason for a man of his stature to be let go.
There’s a report that the two of them were closely aligned with former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during the start of the pandemic, which is a journalistic no-no for a brand that is trying so hard to show impartiality.
Employees took their frustrations and anger out on WarnerMedia’s president Jason Kilar, believing he used this opportunity to vanquish a foe. They also turned their ire towards Chris Cuomo, thinking he was exacting revenge.
Many of them believed Zucker was the perfect man for the job as he rescued a network that was adrift and steered it back to relevance. He changed how CNN covered the news; instead of a scattered approach focusing on multiple stories, he zeroed in on one particular news story and gave it the blanket coverage treatment.
He tested this strategy with the stalled sea cruise, a.k.a poop cruise, coverage, marinated it with the missing Malaysian airplane coverage, and perfected it with the Trump presidency coverage. As a result, CNN had some of its best ratings during his tenure.
Zucker made CNN very profitable, but it came at a cost. He cut down on the live on-the-field reporting and filled the air time with more talking heads and analysts.
He was the network’s knight in shining armor, protecting the network and its employees from any threats, accusations, and/or detractors. At the same time, he was the peoples’ boss, keeping his door open and being there for his employees during the good and bad times.
Zucker expanded CNN’s New York presence at the expense of the network’s headquarters in Atlanta and fortified the DC bureau with top-tier talent. He shut down CNN Airport but invested heavily in CNN Digital.
His main love was the flagship network, CNN/US, and it was evident with the relationships he had with its anchors and the attention and resources it got. He did not show the same love to CNN International, diluting its international coverage with a lot of the U.S product. He definitely didn’t show it to HLN, slashing down its live coverage to just the morning day parts.
Zucker delayed his departure from CNN, thinking he would get a more significant role in the soon-to-be Warner Bros. Discovery, but alas, it was not meant to be.
CNN’s ratings had taken a severe stumble in the last year, and there seemed to be a lack of ingenuity in trying to stop the hemorrhage.
As sudden and shocking as his departure was, it may be for the best that the network moves on without him. He had become the face of the network when the face of the network should be what it did best, which was cover and deliver the news.
New people who will bring fresh thinking and ideas to the network may be what it needs as it marches deep into the 2020s. CNN needs to be less sizzle and more meat, and maybe new management may make it that.
But rest assured, whatever they do with the network moving forward, Zucker’s identity will be attached to it.
(CNN Business, Sports Business Journal, Associated Press, Next TV, Deadline, New York, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast, Variety, Vulture)
QUICK RECAP
Olympics: NBC Sports will not have a great time being in Beijing. (New York Post)
Olympics: How NBC balanced the news and sports of the Opening Ceremony. (Variety)
Olympics: Peacock to stream all events live from Beijing on its premium tier. (AdWeek)
Olympics: NBC’s Opening Ceremony records 14 million viewers. (Sports Media Watch)
Olympics: NBC Sports dealt the worst possible hand with these games. (New York Times)
Olympics: Check out Canada’s CBC studio. (NewscastStudio)
Olympics: Check out NBC Sports’ studio. (NewscastStudio)
Olympics: Will Peacock get it right this time? (Vulture)
Olympics: Former ESPNer Katie Nolan joins NBC Sports to cover these Winter Olympics. (Brian Steinberg/Twitter)
Olympics: NBCUniversal is marketing another Olympics after just six months. (AdWeek)
Olympics: Difference between the NBC Sports app and the Peacock streaming service. (The Streamable)
Olympics: How big is the Olympics Broadcast Services operation in Beijing? (NewscastStudio)
Olympics: NBCUniversal is looking to the next generation of fans for the Winter Olympics. (AdWeek)
January Cable News Ratings: Fox News remains on top. (MediaPost)
January Cable News Ratings: MSNBC sweeps CNN across total day, dayside, and primetime. (NBC Universal Media Village)
January Cable News Ratings: CNN drops significantly from a year ago. (CNN Press Room)
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow to take a TV hiatus from the network. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Whoopi Goldberg suspended from ABC News’ The View. (The Daily Beast)
NBC Sports ad sales chief Dan Lovinger promoted to president, NBC advertising sales and partnerships working exclusively on the Olympics and Paralympics. (AdWeek)
Angela Rye joins ESPN as a special correspondent. (ESPN Press Room)
MSNBC announces Matthew Dowd joins the network as a political contributor and analyst. (Deadline)
Magic Johnson documentary coming to Apple TV Plus April 22. (Earvin Magic Johnson/Twitter)
UEFA’s US broadcast rights are sold to Relevent Sports Group. (Awful Announcing)
The NFL’s NFC Championship and AFC Championship games get boffo ratings for Fox Sports and CBS Sports. (Fox Sports PR/Twitter, ViacomCBS Press Express)
NFL Network reveals its Super Bowl Sunday coverage plans. (NFL Media/Twitter)
How will Fox News handle Donald Trump in 2024? (The Washington Post)
Amazon increases Prime subscriptions blaming the cost on securing the NFL. (Front Office Sports)
ESPN’s Las Vegas studio got some additional usage due to the NHL’s All-Star game and NFL’s Pro Bowl. (Brandon Costa/Twitter)
Lawyers believe that former CNN host Piers Morgan must have known about the Daily Mirror’s phone hacking. (The Guardian)
Spike Lee to direct ESPN’s Colin Kapernick docu-series. (ESPN Press Room)
NBC Sports will not go through with its regional direct-to-consumer streaming plans this year. (Chicago Sun-Times)
An all-women ESPN broadcast and production team is scheduled for the Warriors/Jazz game on February 9. (Awful Announcing)
GOP operatives and Trump officials fill Fox News editorial positions. (Media Matters)
NBC Sports says it has filled all of its Super Bowl slots. (Variety)
Discovery’s Eurosport beats DAZN to get BT Sport in the UK. (Nick Meacham/Twitter)
Fox Sports’ NASCAR Race Hub goes on location to the Los Angeles Coliseum. (NewscastStudio)
Charles Barkley will feature heavily on TNT during the NBA All-Star Game. (New York Post)
This coming Super Bowl might be Al Michaels’ final one calling it for NBC Sports. (Sports Illustrated)
Fox Entertainment strikes streaming deal with Hulu and Tubi. (The Streamable)
ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington come through with the Tom Brady news. (Andrew Marchand/Twitter)
AT&T to spin off WarnerMedia in Discovery merger. (CNBC)
Bill Ackman buys Netflix stock worth $1.1 billion. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Don Lemon gets a show on CNN Plus. (CNN Press Room)
HBO Max to launch in 15 more European countries. (Variety)
Televisa and Univision complete their merger. (Axios)
NBA TV tests an NFL Red Zone like channel called NBA Crunch Time. (Awful Announcing)
ESPN to carry 250 NCAA Lacrosse games. (ESPN Press Room)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #76 - 2022