Peter Bale - Zucker plus other curated media, and journalism news - Issue #62
Starting with the New York Times since it is the least snarky and more or less definitive version of the story. To be clear: Jeff was my boss for a while when I was at CNN and I do have some perspectives on this. He arrived with a hiss and a roar and more charisma, machismo, and visceral news judgment than his predecessor who was a very average man managing decline (in my perspective). Jeff didn't accept decline and turned CNN US (as opposed to CNN International) into a noisy, comment-heavy, star-laden, must-watch network, that also propelled Trump, or more charitably understood the visceral interest in Trump in the US public. It is possible that Jeff both saved CNN and was its downfall but he was determined to make it mean something in a polarised country. He took control in a way no executive at his level had done: leading the news meetings, being in the control room; directing even. He had TV in his bloodstream. Has.
Now for the much more bitchy story from NYMag. I knew Allison a little too. She has a cache, intelligence, and unmistakable glamour that is seldom seen outside New York or an old movie about Hollywood. Where men around her thought going tie-less was a fashion statement, she power-dressed, with the emphasis on the power. It was clear they were a power couple - I don't mean lovers then but I do mean a couple interested in and understanding of power. She had huge dedication to the project and to him and they both drew other people in by that force of energy and willpower. I will be surprised if she can actually stay as she says she intends to. A reminder too that both were divorced so the moral question here is not ours to really question, if it ever is. She was at Jeff's side and had his back.
I admire Brian Stelter. He works unbelievably hard and understood the personality-driven place Jeff was trying to create. Brian turned himself into that sort of personality in an almost manic way. The Kate comment is ludicrous and unprofessional but it is also true. Jeff made news people love him because they sensed he understood the drive to tell a good story.
And the much more bitchy story. There are many more. Zucker did connect with Trump and did shift the network towards him at a critical moment. However, Zucker also loved international news and the web and backed attempts to make CNN International more cerebral. He had an uncanny sense of what works in the US and a passion for news that few media executives have. He was a journalist or at least newsman to his core. If you are a regular reader you will know I think Chris Cuomo is a fake and not terribly good. Also unethical. However, he has messed with the boss in a powerful way and we haven't heard anything like the last of it.
I admit, I largely agree with this. The Australian plan was a successful rort by the industry in cahoots with the Liberal government. It is not a recipe for the future success of media just the sustenance of old media.