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Jeff Zucker Tells CNN Staff He’s Leaving as Network President This Year

He took over CNN in 2013 and has recently overseen a seismic shift in the media landscape as the network overshot Fox News in the viewing rankings.

Jeff Zucker will exit his role as president of CNN at the end of 2021. According to The New York Times, Zucker broke the news to staff in a call on Thursday morning, telling them: “I’m going to stay and finish my current contract, which, as I said, will keep me here until the end of this year. At that point, I do expect to move on.” Zucker took over CNN in 2013 and, in recent months, has overseen a seismic shift in the media landscape as the network overshot Fox News in the viewing rankings. There have been months of speculation that Zucker would head for the exit after Donald Trump left the White House—famously, it was Zucker who put The Apprentice on NBC in 2004, making Trump a household name. After Zucker announced his intention to leave, CNN anchor Jake Tapper paid tribute to him, saying: “He’s the best boss I ever had, and it’s not even close... I’m grateful that we get him for another year.”