NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker announced Friday he will be stepping down from his position when Comcast completes its takeover of NBC. Oddly, this occurred on the very same day CNN fired Jon Klein, the president of CNN/US. The New York Times Media Decoder blog reported moments ago: In an interview at NBC’s executive offices, Mr. Zucker, who is 45, said the decision to leave the only employer he has ever worked for – a decision that he acknowledged was not his own choice – became inevitable after a meeting two weeks ago with Steve Burke, Comcast’s chief operating officer. “We had both gotten to the same place,” Mr. Zucker said. “He made it clear that they wanted to move on at the close of the deal and I was completely comfortable with that.” Asked to identify the biggest mistake of his tenure, Mr. Zucker said, “The thing I regret most is not moving quickly enough” to fix NBC Entertainment. He said he detected some glimmerings of a turnaround in prime time this fall, though “we have a long way to go.” Apparently Zucker is most proud of what he did for NBC’s “Today” show: On the other side of the personal ledger, Mr. Zucker said the highlight of his career remained his days producing the “Today” show, which catapulted to unchallenged leadership and record profits during Mr. Zucker’s two stints as executive producer. He called that “the most fun job I had” and added: “In my heart I am a producer.” This certainly isn’t surprising, as most insiders view Zucker as having been instrumental in developing Katie Couric’s career. As for his future? “Am I interested in politics? Yes,” he said. “Is it something I am going to do right away? No.” Swell – another media member likely going through the revolving door into politics. What a surpise.
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NBC Exec Jeff Zucker to Step Down
Posted in Hollywood, Hot Stuff, News
Tagged biggest-mistake, highlight, Hollywood, katie couric, made-it-clear, media, News, politics, revolving, steve-burke
