New CNN Boss Jeff Zucker Pushes ‘Editorially Independent’ Network
Jeff Zucker, the soon-to-be CNN chief, said that the network can’t “allow our competition to be defined just by the partisan political networks… Our competition is not just Fox News and MSNBC.”
Though Zucker didn’t single out any current CNN programs or detail his plans to improve the network’s flagging ratings, he said that journalistic integrity will be his primary motivator as he reforms the cable news giant, reports Deadline.
According to Zucker, CNN is “a global business (with) scale that’s unmatched by anyone else,” and that ratings are “not what defines the health of this business.” He does admit that improving programming will “be a top priority” and that he has plans to engage viewers and increase their “passion….How we’ll get there is something we’ll look at in the days and months ahead.”
He also hinted that he might shift coverage to “softer” news, and “broaden the definition of what news is,” and saying that news reporting is “not just about politics and wars.”
He also wants to maximize digital engagement, and turn online CNN news-hunters into televised viewers.
Zucker is coming off of a tough tenure as CEO of NBCUniversal, including the aborted attempt at a prime-time Jay Leno show. Zucker admits that he has “made mistakes in the entertainment world. I own those.” But Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent said that Zucker’s mistakes were “irrelevant to my search” and that he wanted a “great leader of a news organization.”
Zucker will leave his current post for CNN in January.
