CNN Anchors Told "Change Is Here"

Jason Kilar

Some of CNN’s biggest on-air hosts during a meeting Monday pressed WarnerMedia Chief Executive Jason Kilar for details regarding CNN President Jeff Zucker’s resignation, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Zucker resigned last week, citing his failure to disclose a consensual relationship with a close colleague. The colleague he referred to was CNN Chief Marketing Officer Allison Gollust, who remains at the company.

"Change absolutely is here. It's around us. And it is coming," said Kilar at the top of the meeting, according to Insider. "The mission of CNN remains, which is strong, independent journalism."

He added, "I do consider the matter of Jeff's resignation closed and I'm not going to be speaking about the details of it as a matter of policy."

New York-based anchors including Don Lemon, Brian Stelter, Richard Quest and Alisyn Camerota asked Kilar a range of questions relating to Zucker’s departure and its aftermath, including what to tell network viewers and employees about the executive shuffle. Kilar appeared in the meeting through a video connection.

Quest, the anchor of CNN’s “Quest Means Business,” asked Kilar during the question-and-answer session whether he considered alternate decisions that would have allowed Mr. Zucker to stay on instead of having him resign and opening the network to intense scrutiny.

There was the possibility of a more imaginative result that would’ve allowed you to keep the captain, instead of throwing the captain overboard while the ship is about to go through icebergs,” Mr. Quest said.

Oliver Darcy, a reporter who covers media at CNN, asked Mr. Kilar whether CNN would pay former “Cuomo Prime Time” host Chris Cuomo a severance package. Mr. Cuomo has hired an attorney after being fired by CNN in December after a network investigation into his efforts to aid his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in responding to allegations of sexual harassment.