Candy Crowley Leaving CNN: Jeff Zucker Says She Is ‘A Television News Icon’


Candy Crowley has been a fixture at CNN for 27 years. Variety reports today that Crowley is departing the network, citing a memo sent to staff by the president of CNN Worldwide, Jeff Zucker.

The full text of the memo, published on the Wrap, included complimentary words from Zucker about Crowley and her journalistic career.

“To say she lives and breathes politics is more than an understatement. She has an innate ability to sense its nuance, push its limits, and ask questions that others won’t. She is beloved in Washington even by those that she so skillfully takes to task on Sunday mornings. And she’s an award-winning journalist – taking home everything from a Peabody and Emmys to an Edward R. Murrow award. She is a television news icon.”

As Variety notes, Crowley’s exit comes as all the Sunday talk shows are competing for notable guests. Meet the Press on NBC has a new host in Chuck Todd, and ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos has seen an uptick in viewers 25-54.

In October, The New York Times reported that Zucker’s tenure has focused on increasing CNN’s ratings, which are at almost 20-year lows. Part of Zucker’s strategy is to focus more on breaking news stories, original series, and a heavy investment in digital operations. This past summer, the homemade video of a CNN reporter clearing out her desk and stealing office supplies was heavily shared over the internet.

Crowley worked for the Associated Press and NBC before starting with CNN. As a Washington Post article from 2010 revealed, Crowley never thought she had a shot at the State of the Union program after John King departed.

“People always used to say to me, ‘Don’t you want your own show? That’d be so cool if you had your own show.’ I said, ‘You know, it’s not going to happen. So — no.”

Alexandra Pelosi described in that 2010 piece the real behind-the-scenes work Crowley put in to her journalistic efforts, prior to landing the spot on State of the Union.

“She’s like the CliffsNotes for all the other reporters. They talk about those things that nobody reads — nobody reads bills. But Candy does. She reads all of that stuff. She reads everything. On the bus, everyone would just go to her and ask her, ‘Candy, so what’s this bill about?'”

Crowley moderated the town hall presidential debate in 2012, and received both praise and criticism for her performance.

[Candy Crowley Image: CNN]

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