This week there was a seismic earthquake in news media when former CNN President Jeff Zucker resigned after disclosing a consensual relationship with executive Allison Gollust.
Following the news, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar met with CNN employees in the network’s three main bureaus: New York, Washington, and Atlanta.
Kilar began Wednesday in New York, meeting with some of the company’s most senior executives, per Adweek. Then he traveled to the D.C. bureau, where the reception on Wednesday night was reportedly more frigid.
On his trip to the nation’s capital, top anchors and correspondents reportedly peppered Kilar with questions regarding what just happened and why they fired their longtime boss.
Kilar was asked by those in the D.C. bureau if “any past conflict” he had with Zucker played a part in the decision-making procedure. The WarnerMedia CEO reportedly noted that “the facts are the facts” and declined to “get into details” about specific questions.
In one incident, a reporter reportedly grilled Kilar on whether he had advised with other CNN executives during the process leading to Zucker’s resignation.
Kilar didn’t answer and later commented that he does not typically “canvas” individuals beyond H.R. and legal teams when making these types of decisions.
Furthermore, he repeatedly noted company “values and principles” in his answers and stated, “I feel comfortable in my decision. I do.” But those at the D.C. bureau employees remained dissatisfied.
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.
