Shoe after shoe after shoe has been dropping ever since news broke that CNN head Jeff Zucker resigned following revelations about a “consensual relationship” with his CNN colleague Allison Gollust.
And don’t get us wrong: Zucker’s sketchy and toxic as hell. But he definitely doesn’t have a monopoly on sketchiness and toxicity over at CNN. Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy, for example, have been going to bat hard for Zucker, which is not just gross but also puzzling, given that Zucker has put Stelter, Darcy, et al. in this position.
"I know we're all in shock," Michael Bass said on CNN's 9am editorial call today. "You can't replace Jeff. It's not possible. There's no one else like him." So "the best thing we can do is honor his legacy and continue his mission." "Do what we've been doing every single day."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) February 3, 2022
What an inspirational message.
“Honor his legacy and continue his mission” https://t.co/Q17QUuiVBw
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 3, 2022
It must make Zucker feel all warm and fuzzy, knowing that his employees are so fiercely loyal to him.
And make no mistake: they are fiercely loyal. This thread from Politico’s Maxwell Tani on a meeting between Jason Kilar, WarnerMedia CEO, and CNN staff sheds some more light on just how fierce their fierce loyalty is:
Heard the meeting between Jason Kilar and CNN DC staff did not go well. One source described it as a “shitshow,” another person said Kilar was pressed repeatedly on whether his poor relationship with Zucker played into his departure.
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 3, 2022
He confirmed he previously did not know about the relationship between Gollust and Zucker, and said CNN’s new owners at Discovery were not involved in Zucker’s not-so-willing resignation.https://t.co/tcFwDmCHLt
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 3, 2022
A number of prominent on-air personalities including Jake Tapper, Kaitlan Collins, and Jim Acosta pressed Kilar for nearly an hour about Zucker's resignationhttps://t.co/tcFwDmCHLt
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 3, 2022
“Did your personal feelings at all and any past conflict you have with Jeff play into this at all?” an attendee asked.
Kilar defended his actions from tough questions from a number of prominent on-air network personalities including Kaitlan Collins, Jake Tapper and others.
“Talking about ‘what you do everyday’ — Jeff is a very critical part of that,” one CNN White House reporter said. “If you listen to the 9 a.m. calls, if you talk to anyone in this room … that’s how they feel.”
Another CNN staffer noted that Zucker’s departure was likely to color the launch of CNN+, the network’s new streaming service.
“Every story that gets written about us is going to be this,” another employee said during the meeting.
How telling that firefighters are apparently much angrier with Jason Kilar than they are with Jeff Zucker.
Staffers asked whether the "punishment fit the crime," and pushed Kilar to disclose whether more damaging info was likely to emerge from the outside investigation into the Chris Cuomo debacle. One employee said they felt "less safe" with Zucker gone.https://t.co/tcFwDmCHLt
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 3, 2022
Oh, the humanity!
Obviously a tough situation for Kilar, but he also probably didn't win over anyone in the room with quotes like "What has been said on this topic has been said. That is what has been communicated that is what is communicated, and that's what will be communicated."
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) February 3, 2022
Kilar shouldn’t have to win anyone over. They should all be furious with Jeff Zucker.
Though we suppose it’s more difficult to be furious with someone you’ve been covering for for so long.
CNN doesnt have an employee on their payroll with integrity https://t.co/P2AnRnbOiW
— Ahmed Al Assliken (@assliken) February 3, 2022
Well, technically Mary Katharine Ham is a CNN contributor, which makes her an exception to this otherwise solid rule.
Yaaaas. https://t.co/oKjLE2K3wM
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) February 3, 2022
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) February 3, 2022
https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/1489100132578648067
https://twitter.com/Jimsdoublechin2/status/1489227278873681928
https://t.co/hQMBdcwV15 pic.twitter.com/eV4yAAa2y6
— Jay Legend (@JayBelize23) February 3, 2022
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