Jeff Zucker Resigns From CNN After Relationship With Top Executive

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Jeff Zucker resigned on Wednesday as the president of CNN and the chairman of WarnerMedia’s news and sports division, writing in a memo that he had failed to disclose to the company a romantic relationship with another senior executive at CNN.

Mr. Zucker, 56, is among the most powerful leaders in the American media and television industries. The sudden end of his nine-year tenure immediately throws into flux the direction of CNN and its parent company, WarnerMedia, which is expected to be acquired later this year by Discovery Inc. in one of the nation’s largest media mergers.

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 Gov. 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. Ms. Gollust said in a statement that she would remain in her role at CNN.

“Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” she wrote. “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.”

Both Mr. Zucker and Ms. Gollust are divorced.

Mr. Zucker, a hands-on manager who is often whispering in the earpieces of on-air anchors and on the phone to his control room at odd hours, had been absent from his usual editorial calls in recent days. But even some of his closest confidants had no idea that he was on the verge of resigning. In the CNN newsroom, where Mr. Zucker commands fierce loyalty, journalists and producers were left stunned on Wednesday.

The events that led to Mr. Zucker’s exit started early last week, when both Mr. Zucker and Ms. Gollust were asked about their relationship by lawyers from Cravath, Swaine & Moore, a law firm that had been retained by WarnerMedia to investigate Mr. Cuomo’s tenure at the network, according to two people briefed on internal deliberations.

Mr. Cuomo has fiercely contested the terms of his departure from CNN, hiring the powerful Hollywood litigator Bryan Freedman to represent him in negotiations with the network. CNN was refusing to pay Mr. Cuomo severance or honor the remainder of his current contract, a sum of several million dollars, saying he had engaged in unethical conduct.

Lawyers from Cravath were interviewing CNN officials broadly about Mr. Cuomo’s tenure and the events that led up to his termination, in part because CNN executives believed the dispute could eventually lead to litigation, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss company business. Among other matters, CNN had been informed, days before Mr. Cuomo’s firing, of an allegation of sexual misconduct against the anchor by a former junior colleague at another network. Mr. Cuomo has denied the allegation.

Mr. Zucker and Mr. Cuomo were once close. Mr. Zucker recruited the anchor to CNN from ABC News and he stood by Mr. Cuomo for months even after revelations that he had advised aides to Andrew Cuomo on how the governor could fend off a sexual harassment scandal.

Ms. Gollust also has a connection to the Cuomo family: She served as communications director to Andrew Cuomo, then the governor, for four months in 2012 and 2013.

But Mr. Zucker’s support of Chris Cuomo dwindled in December after more details emerged about the anchor’s involvement with Andrew Cuomo’s scandal, including efforts to uncover the status of articles at other news outlets. His friendship with Chris Cuomo curdled, with their representatives engaging in a brief public war of words.

WarnerMedia’s chief executive, Jason Kilar, told employees in a memo on Wednesday that he had accepted Mr. Zucker’s resignation. He later announced that three executives — Michael Bass, Amy Entelis and Ken Jautz — would jointly lead CNN on an interim basis through what he anticipated would be “the close of the pending transaction with Discovery.”

Mr. Kilar, a former head of Hulu, had been perceived as losing power to Mr. Zucker in the wake of the announcement of the Discovery deal. AT&T, the parent company of WarnerMedia, neglected to inform Mr. Kilar about the pending merger until shortly before it was announced and he had been widely expected to leave once it was completed. And Mr. Zucker is close friends with David Zaslav, the Discovery chief executive who is poised to be the leader of the newly combined company.

In an industry known for its on-the-air talent, Mr. Zucker is the rare behind-the-scenes executive who almost rose to the status of a household name.

He earned headlines as the wunderkind executive producer of NBC’s “Today” show in the 1990s, making stars of Matt Lauer and Katie Couric. He later took over NBC’s entertainment division, signing off on a new reality show called “The Apprentice” that starred the New York developer Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Zucker, who has also battled a series of medical ailments throughout his career, became chief executive of NBCUniversal in 2007 before he was ousted from the company in 2010. He joined CNN in January 2013, and eventually became a public face of the network in large part because of his complex relationship with Mr. Trump.

CNN was criticized during the 2016 presidential campaign for granting enormous amounts of airtime to speeches by Mr. Trump. But as Mr. Trump hardened against CNN, he publicly vilified Mr. Zucker, who in turn attacked the president for demonizing the press.

Mr. Trump released a statement on Wednesday celebrating Mr. Zucker’s resignation, claiming he had been “terminated for numerous reasons, but predominantly because CNN has lost its way with viewers and everybody else.”

The Zucker news on Wednesday was also featured at the top of Fox News’s homepage, with a headline saying he “resigns in disgrace.” The accompanying article said Mr. Zucker had “personally allowed” CNN to “drift from a just-the-facts news operation to a hyperpartisan opinion platform.”

In recent months, Mr. Zucker was heavily involved in the shaping of CNN+, a subscription streaming service that is set to begin this spring and a major financial bet for WarnerMedia. CNN will now proceed into an uncertain digital future without its longtime leader at the helm.

“Together, we had nine great years,” Mr. Zucker wrote in his memo on Wednesday. “I certainly wish my tenure here had ended differently. But it was an amazing run. And I loved every minute.”

Katie Robertson contributed reporting.