5 Craziest Revelations from Blockbuster Report on Zucker, Licht, and CNN’s Potential Sale

Variety dropped a bombshell of an article on CNN Tuesday, dishing dirt on what reporter Tatiana Siegel called the last “18 months of crazy backstabbing” at the ratings-beleaguered network. Those 18 months included the ouster of two consecutive CNN chief executives Jeff Zucker and Chris Licht, all under the watchful eye of David Zaslav – the CEO of CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.

The article comes almost seven weeks after Licht was fired from CNN in the wake of a disastrous town hall with former President Donald Trump, a scathing profile in the Atlantic, and CNN staffers crying foul in the press as morale sunk.

Here are 5 stunning allegations from the article:

Zucker approached Roman Abramovich about buying CNN

Siegel begins with a story of Zucker “with tears in his eyes” approaching Zaslav to demand Licht stop bashing him in the press. Siegel reported that Zaslav quickly turned the conversation to rumors that Zucker was working to find rich investors to help him buy CNN. “Zucker vehemently denied that he had any desire to do so. But sources tell Variety that the opposite is true, and that Zucker has spent the past year traveling the globe to meet with potential partners in a bid for CNN.”

Siegel wrote that “Zaslav never took Zucker’s CNN overtures seriously,” but that Zucker was serious, enough to “have pitched some of the richest people in the world on a potential CNN play.”

Among the famous figures Zucker reportedly approached to help him take over CNN was Russian oligarch and one-time Putin pal Roman Abramovich. Abramovich’s name reportedly came up as part of an internal WB Discovery investigation into President of CNN Commercial Worldwide Rani Raad, who Siegel describes as “Zucker’s former top lieutenant” and who left CNN abruptly to work with Zucker at an investment fund. According to the report, Raad is suspected as having worked on behalf of the ousted Zucker while he was still an executive at CNN.

A spokeswoman for Zucker told Variety, “Any allegation or insinuation that Jeff has made any effort to purchase CNN is unequivocally false.” “Warner Bros. Discovery is committed to CNN. It is not for sale,” A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson also told Variety.

Days before Licht’s firing, a top exec sought the advice of … Brian Stelter

In a bizarre twist of fate, Siegel reported that Brian Stelter, the well-known CNN host and media reporter who Licht fired soon after taking over, was consulted on whether or not Licht should be fired. “CNN COO David Leavy called former CNN media reporter Brian Stelter days before Licht was fired to gauge his opinion on whether Warner Bros. Discovery should cut Licht loose, even though Licht was the very person who axed Stelter. The former “Reliable Sources” anchor said yes. Stelter declined comment,” reported Siegel.

Zucker ‘never could let go’

Siegel reported that Zucker long loomed large as Licht tried to reshape CNN into the network that Zaslav wanted it to be – less partisan and more news-driven. She added that “Zucker’s quest to recapture the CNN throne began a few months after he was fired for cause in February 2022” around the same time Licht was announced as his replacement.

Siegel reported on Zucker’s business moves after losing the top job at CNN:

At year’s end, Zucker was sitting on a $1 billion war chest when Gerry Cardinale’s private-equity firm RedBird Capital Partners and Abu Dhabi-based International Media Investments tapped him to lead joint venture RedBird IMI. (Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, a United Arab Emirates government minister, had put up 75% of the funds.) An announcement of Zucker’s role stated that the executive would target “large-scale” media and sports investment opportunities, with no specifics on what those might be.

Still, it would require a lot more than $1 billion to land a media asset akin to CNN. Thus, the courting of billionaires ensued.

‘Liberties were taken’ with brutal Chris Licht profile

Siegel reported on the firestorm that surrounded Licht after the Atlantic’s Tim Alberta published a scathing profile that characterized Licht as a deeply ineffective executive. She also called into question the accuracy of the reporting in Alberta’s profile:

But those familiar with the Atlantic backstory say Alberta had just four meetings with Licht, about the same amount of facetime as Stewart received for his Times profile, which played the story straight. Those same sources say liberties were taken with the Atlantic piece, including that key off-the-record details and quotes were used on the record. On-the-record interviews that were neutral or painted Licht positively were not used. Licht’s trainer, Joe Maysonet, who was present for some of the Atlantic conversations, tells Variety that Licht’s comments were taken out of context multiple times.

“It makes me incensed,” Maysonet says of the finished product.

Two sources say the piece’s now-infamous quote from the gym in which Licht said, “Zucker couldn’t do this shit,” was something that Alberta said and that Licht merely repeated.

The Atlantic replied to Variety saying, “Tim Alberta is a fastidious, ethical reporter, and in quoting Licht and others, he adhered to the ground rules established for each particular conversation. Licht’s words in the gym were his own, not Tim’s. The Atlantic stands by Tim’s story and his reporting.”

Update: Alberta vehemently defended his reporting in a lengthy thread addressed to Siegel on Tuesday night. 

Chris Cuomo argues Zucker sacrificed his top host to try and keep his own job

Siegel ends her article by noting that Zaslav still must contend with Chris Cuomo’s $125 million arbitration demand against CNN, which she dubs another “Zucker-induced problem.”

Siegel also reports that “Cuomo’s legal team is now arguing that Zucker sacrificed his star anchor to curry favor with the incoming Discovery regime and secure a promotion. (During a CNBC interview, Malone had expressed disdain for the network’s partisan talking heads like Cuomo.)” Zucker had fired Cuomo after allegations of sexual misconduct and his involvement in aiding his brother, then the governor of New York, manage his own scandals.

“At the time, Zucker called Zaslav, who was the incoming CEO, to convey that Cuomo had been fired before the news broke, sources say. Cuomo’s lawyers plan to call Zaslav as a witness in the case. It’s yet another example of the Zucker way at CNN — unrelenting drama that others, eventually, are tasked with cleaning up, if they can,” Siegel concluded.

Read the full article here from Variety.

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