NEW YORK (Transatlantic Today) – On Wednesday, CNN President Jeff Zucker submitted his resignation, informing staff that he was supposed to reveal a relationship with a valued colleague but had neglected to do so.
Zucker announced his retirement after 9 years in a company-wide email. As part of an inquiry into former CNN presenter Chris Cuomo, he was probed regarding a consensual relationship with a close colleague.
WarnerMedia chief executive Jason Kilar approved Zucker’s resignation, according to an email acquired by NBC News.
According to CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter Stelter, executive vice presidents Ken Jautz, Michael Bass and Amy Entelis would head CNN as co-heads of the network beginning Wednesday.
According to Stelter, Zucker’s email did not identify the person with whom he was having an affair, but it was Allison Gollust, CNN’s chief marketing officer and executive vice president.
According to Stelter, Gollust confessed to her role in a second memo to staff.
A request for comment from CNN was not immediately returned on Wednesday.
Zucker’s departure comes almost precisely a year after CNN revealed that he was on the verge of leaving the network but elected to stay until at least for the rest of 2021. Zucker, a former NBC executive, joined CNN in 2013 to assist with the global operation.
Last year, sources informed NBC News that Gollust had risen as a leading contender to succeed Zucker as president, adding that she was virtually constantly by his side in the workplace and on the road.
Zucker and Gollust worked previously together at NBCUniversal when he was president and chief executive and she was executive vice president of corporate communications.
The email didn’t say why Zucker was being interrogated as part of the probe into Cuomo, who was terminated in December.
The network looked into Cuomo for assisting his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in his fight against sexual misconduct claims.
Before joining CNN, Gollust served as a communications director for the governor’s office.
While the news of Zucker’s resignation was shocking, former CNN stars remarked on social media that Gollust and Zucker’s affair was well-known.
