Jeff Zucker, the TV executive who helped breathe new life and relevance into the CNN cable-news network, expects to leave the outlet when his contract lapses at the end of 2021.
The executive told staffers of his decision in a meeting Thursday morning.
“This organization has been thru a lot. I’d like to be here to get us all back to a new normal, one that feels much more like it once did around here,” Zucker said during the outlet’s regular morning call among producers. “So, as a result, I am going to stay and finish my current contract – which, as I said, will keep me here until the end of this year. At that point, I do expect to move on.”
Zucker’s departure will only add to the parade of senior news executives moving on after an extremely punishing news cycle during the Trump presidency. His exit will likely spur some hand-wringing at CNN’s owner, WarnerMedia, and its parent, AT&T, where Zucker also supervised sports. It’s not clear the company has immediate successors in mind for either role.
More to come…