CNN chief Jeff Zucker beats back shots from armchair critics

CNN president Jeff Zucker is incredibly interested in the device being used to record his interview. "You're recording on your phone, what is that?" the head of the Atlanta-based cable news network asks, peering over at the table where a light is blinking. "Oh, your Samsung." His interest in gadgets may be explained by the fact that Zucker, who joined the firm in January 2013, has been tasked with shepherding its shift to digital media as its audience consumes more news on tablets and phones. Parent company Time Warner's July rebuff of a US$80 billion takeover offer from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox has put pressure on CNN to produce profits in its own right, industry analysts say. "I've been here for about 18 months and I think I inherited a company with a long proud tradition, with an iconic brand, that had gotten a little unsure of itself, especially in the US, in the partisan cable news wars in the US," Zucker said. "I think we've given the place a little bit more confidence and been a little bit more assertive. I think that we've shown a tremendous commitment to the roots of CNN in covering major breaking news around the world." Confidence is not something the former NBC Universal chief executive lacks. At 49, he is one of the youngest and fastest-rising executives in the television industry. At just 26 he was named executive producer of NBC's Today show, one of America's most-watched daily morning news programmes. "I think that companies take on the tone and tenor of their leadership and I think that as people got to see me and know me they know that I never back down from a fight," he said. "I think that too often CNN had become too afraid to punch back to its critics and I'm never willing to sit back and let people take shots at CNN." Those shots from the critics say that under Zucker's leadership, CNN has become more right-wing in its attempts to wrest the No1 ratings crown away from Fox, and that it homes in on one to two big stories at any time to the point of obsession. The channel's detractors derided its wall-to-wall, marathon coverage of the missing Malaysian airliner MH370, which at times forced reporters to fill airtime even when there were no updates to give, and media-watchers were dismayed that it was done at the exclusion of other stories. But Zucker does not flinch at such criticism. "That's part of our strategy," he said. "The thing about CNN is that everybody has an opinion because CNN is so important and iconic in the world and the history of the last 35 years, so everybody thinks they know what CNN is and what we do. Our strategy over the last 18 months is when a big story happens [such as] the missing Malaysian airliner, [the police shooting and subsequent rioting in] Ferguson or [the suicide of] Robin Williams and to go all-in and to cover stories perhaps longer than competitors, who are often the critics, would or would expect or that CNN might have in the past." CNN also says the naysayers are mainly critics whose job it is to watch cable news all day long, which is why they find its coverage repetitive, whereas the average viewer watches maybe 15 to 20 minutes on any given day. "Our strategy has been to get there first, swarm the big stories and stay longer, and that has worked," Zucker said. "That's what has led to our better viewership, better position … that goes back to the confidence thing we said before, everybody is entitled to their opinion. "We're going to do what we think is right and not be swayed by the criticism." Zucker said that when he became president, CNN was the third-rated cable news network in the United States, behind Fox and MSNBC, but it was now a solid No2. The elephant in the room, however, is that despite such achievements and earning US$600 million this year, the channel has announced large-scale cutbacks - 300 jobs will go at CNN out of almost 1,500 lay-offs at parent company Turner Broadcasting. "We are going to do less and have to do it with less," Zucker told employees in August. Since the announcement, the rebuilt staff confidence he talks proudly of has wavered as employees wait to hear who will be let go. "Let me say this, it's been an incredibly successful year both financially and journalistically for CNN," Zucker said. "But having said that, like every media company in the world as we go through the digital transformation, we have to look at doing things differently and reallocating resources into areas of growth, which often include digital. "Change is always uncomfortable. Change always affects morale to some degree, but when you come out the other side of it, hopefully you're an even stronger company than when you were going in." The company says digital operations and international newsgathering, encompassing a strong commitment to Asia, are its highest growth areas. Zucker's line of thinking is that if audiences want to find a comprehensive rundown of the day's top 10 stories, then they should log onto CNN.com. "It's understanding that there are multiple platforms for telling stories that didn't exist five years ago in any real way," he said. "You're recording this conversation on your phone and five years ago you couldn't have done. You have to acknowledge the world is changing. The world is different. "Actually I would argue that we are covering more stories than we are in the past. We're just putting them out on different platforms." Although the cutbacks are expected to be spread across all the places CNN operates in, Zucker said its commitment to Asia remained strong. "I don't see that changing in any way," he said. "I think you'd be hard pressed to find any TV organisation that has two correspondents in HK, one in Seoul, one in Tokyo, one in Beijing, India and Pakistan. I think our level of commitment speaks for itself and is unparalleled, frankly." Zucker said the pressure on CNN to self censor from the central government in Beijing was no deterrent to covering the China story. "We are incredibly strong believers in freedom of the press and stand firm and unapologetic in that … don't stray from telling whatever the story is," he said. "Have we had issues from time to time with some of our reporting being seen there? Yes, but in no way does that change our commitment to being there." He admitted that finding ways to monetise CNN's fast-growing digital business still eluded him, as it does the rest of the industry. "That's not perfect but every year that gets better too, and I think you have to be in a position to take advantage of that when real monetisation comes," he said.

CNN chief Jeff Zucker beats back shots from armchair critics

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}As Jeff Zucker tries to reshape the TV news network, pressure is on him to squeeze out profits

As Jeff Zucker tries to reshape the TV news network, pressure is on him to squeeze out profits