More changes at CNN as top programming executive to leave at year’s end
CNN is in the midst of an upheaval at the top, with most of the top programming executives leaving the company over the past year.
The company is about to break into three.
New CNN president Jeff Zucker, who began the year with a memo on the firm’s vision for its programming strategy, plans to leave at year’s end. His top deputy, Ted Turner, is leaving after 24 years at the company. The third and likely longest-tenured exec, David Martin, is leaving after one year.
The move comes amid a long-term shift in CNN’s leadership, as the company has become less focused on programming and has shifted to a more global approach. It’s become more digital-centric, which has increased profitability and expanded its reach. In the long term, Zucker would like to have more control over the programming, which he says is “the future of the American media market and news in America.”
He’s also said before that he would like to make major changes at the top, and some of the changes he wanted to make were being made.
CNN Chief Communications Officer Jeff Zucker, who has been in charge of the company since 1998, is leaving in March, a source told The Post. Zucker made the announcement in a memo to the CNN staff announcing his plans on February 10. Zucker plans to work at an outside venture capital firm.
Zucker’s decision is expected to create a leadership vacuum at CNN, which is in the process of being rebooted as part of a larger plan to become a more traditional media company.
Another source said that Jeff Shell, who ran a production company outside of CNN, will take over the top job at CNN. Shell, who will become president, has been with CNN since 1996 and has worked in several other roles over the years.
The news comes as a change in CNN’s leadership was