On Wednesday, CNN saw its president, Jeff Zucker, resign following an admission of a consensual relationship with a colleague. As a result, the network had to scramble to find temporary replacements.
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced that a trio of executives will be filling the role left behind by Zucker’s resignation. CNN executives Michael Bass, Amy Entelis, and Ken Jautz are now leading the company on an interim basis.
“We are fortunate to have three senior leaders within the News organization who have agreed to serve as interim co-heads for CNN beginning today through what you should anticipate will be through the close of the pending transaction with Discovery,” Kilar said.
Bass is CNN’s executive director of programming, Entelis is executive vice president for talent and content development, and Jautz is executive vice president; now, the trio will be tasked with guiding the network through its latest scandal.
Zucker admitted to being in a romantic relationship with one of the executives, Allison Gollust, who serves as executive vice president and chief marketing officer, resulting in the president leaving his post.
“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,” Zucker said in a memo.
“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.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
