Jeff Zucker weighing possible departure from CNN: NYT

CNN President Jeff Zucker is reportedly undecided about his future and is considering leaving the network, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Tensions have developed between Zucker, who previously served as president of NBCUniversal, and Jason Kilar, the CEO of the network’s parent company WarnerMedia.

Zucker could make a decision to exit the network in the coming weeks. Multiple people briefed on his plans told the Times that Zucker would make a decision over the holidays.

Zucker has been at the helm of the network since 2013. He has been a public target for critics of CNN, including President Trump, over the course of his tenure as well as during the 2016 presidential race.

Zucker’s contract extends through next year, according to the Times.

The CNN president has reportedly felt conflicted about his future at the network since Kilar’s hiring, as the tech executive has reportedly done little to endear himself with CNN’s anchors and journalists behind the scenes. Zucker has also been stripped of some responsibilities, including oversight of human resources and network communications.

In one instance highlighted by the newspaper, a congratulatory note from Kilar to CNN journalists regarding their election coverage contained several glaring factual errors about the network’s coverage, suggesting that Kilar hadn’t been watching too closely.

Any conflict between the two was dismissed by Kilar himself during a recent Times interview, during which he told Kara Swisher that he hoped Zucker would remain at CNN for the “next 50 years.”

A spokesperson for WarnerMedia did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill on the Times’s reporting.