Former CNN President Jeff Zucker reportedly isn’t in touch with the new parent company of the cable news channel. According to The New York Times, Zucker and Discovery CEO David Zaslav have not been in touch since the ex-president left CNN in early February.
Zucker exited from the network after he failed to disclose a consensual relationship with a fellow CNN executive. Nonetheless, before that news came out, Zucker and Zaslav had reportedly an excellent working and personal relationship.
Furthermore, the former CNN executive initially wanted to leave his position in 2021. However, Zucker remained at his post with the merger incoming, considering both men were allies. Still, he didn’t last to see the transition from WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar to Zaslav.
“The collateral damage [from the Warner Media-Discovery merger] has included the long friendship between Mr. Zaslav and Mr. Zucker, one-time allies in business and in life,” Times reporters John Koblin, Michael M. Grynbaum, and Benjamin Mullin wrote.
“Mr. Zucker, who once called the Discovery chief ‘the best friend that anyone could ever want, and I’m lucky that he’s mine,’ has not spoken with Mr. Zaslav since his exit on Feb. 2.”
Zucker was also one of the executives pushing for CNN+, and this past week, Warner Bros. Discovery decided it was time to pull the plug on the venture spearheaded by the former president less than a month since its launch.
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.
