CNN President Jeff Zucker resigns over undisclosed relationship with colleague

Jeff Zucker, President of television news network CNN, has resigned over an undisclosed romantic relationship with a colleague.

Reporting about the incident, CNN wrote, “Zucker's stunning announcement came less than two months after he fired prime time anchor Chris Cuomo for improperly advising his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, about how to address sexual misconduct allegations.”

According to the CNN report, Zucker did not name the colleague but Allison Gollust revealed that she was the one with whom he shared the relationship. This surfaced after she gave a statement about it. She said, “Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years. 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."

Being one of the most powerful media executives, Zucker’s resignation came as a shock upon the management team of CNN. In fact, as WarnerMedia is in the process of merging with Discovery, it was being assumed that he may head for a promotion on the closure of the deal. The report further read, “That is not the only reason this is a pivotal time for the network: CNN plans to launch an ambitious streaming service, CNN+, in the spring, and it also needs to roll out a new 9 p.m. program to replace Cuomo.”