On February 2nd, Jeff Zucker, president of CNN, resigned from his post. More accurately, he was fired. Fired by his superior, Jason Kilar, CEO of CNN’s parent company, TimeWarner.
Ostensibly Zucker was dismissed for what was deemed an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. Speculation though is that he was canned not because of his romantic relationship, but rather because of his professional relationship with Chris Cuomo. Cuomo is the former CNN anchor who himself was finally fired because he was entangled in the scandal involving his brother, then Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo.
Then again, maybe Zucker was fired for a different reason altogether. Maybe he was pushed out not because of his relationship with Allison Gollust, or because of his relationship with Chris Cuomo. Maybe it was because WarnerMedia is set to merge with Discovery, and Zucker is somehow inconvenient as the nuptials are soon to take place. Or, maybe it was because Kilar was – at another time in another place – subordinate to Zucker and this was Jason getting even with Jeff. Or, here’s another theory: it was Gollust who was mainly at fault, for being too amenable to the demands of Governor Cuomo, for whom, oh by the way, she had previously worked.
But, counterintuitively, this post about bad leadership at CNN is not primarily about Zucker. It’s primarily about Kilar. It’s about what Kilar has done, and not done in the immediate wake of Zucker’s departure.
Right now, CNN is rudderless. It’s been rudderless since Zucker left. This has already had three bad outcomes. First, several of the company’s leading lights, specifically star anchors such Jake Tapper, have let it publicly be known they are furious at Zucker’s departure. Second, the all-important launch of CNN’s new streaming service, CNN+, is supposed to happen in the next month. This means that even if it has not been derailed, inevitably it has been disrupted. Third, since Zucker was temporarily replaced by three nonentities – Michael Bass, Amy Entelis, and Ken Jautz – CNN is, at this critical moment, effectively without a proven leader at the helm.
Nothing against Bass, Entelis, or Jautz. Rather it is to say that if Kilar was going to fire Zucker from one moment to the next, he should have prepared. He should have prepared by being ready to replace him with a single individual demonstrably capable of calming the roiling waters, shoring up the sagging troops, putting on a happy face, and shepherding the company to the next, critical, stage of its development.
Since this involves both a major merger and a major launch, CNN’s leadership vacuum is painful every which way. Whatever Zucker did or did not do, blame for this unfortunate interregnum falls squarely on Kilar’s shoulders.