YouSaid · the spoken record

Jeff Zucker

lines on the record
104
first
2018-12-03
most recent
2018-12-03
sittings or episodes
1
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podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “I know they're big listeners of my podcast. And number two, this could be shorten your career. And number two, look, I still harbor somewhere in my gut.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “Look in an out these two things. I don't know for sure where I'll be. But here's the two things that I do know is if the Miami Dolphins call, that's where I'll be, or number one.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “So, with regard to cable and television, I mean, listen, first of all, nobody knows for sure. So anybody who tells you definitively where this industry is going run away from. But having said that, look, the trends are clear and obvious, and that traditional, I think television will still exist, and television will still be around. But I think it will live events like news and sports will be the things that will endure the longest and be around. And it's clear that when it comes to entertainment, people want to consume it when they want to consume it, where they want to consume it, how they want to consume it. And I think that trend will only continue. And with regard to where I'll be in five years,”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “And when you're calling the media and CNN enemies of the people, You're crossing a line, and that's why I put out the statement I did, because enough is enough.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “Well, but if I felt that that would change the way he has behaved, I would do it in a second. Obviously, I have no issue with picking up the phone, but I think he has proven, because we've said it time and again that these words are dangerous and are going to result in something like somebody sending bombs. And he knows that, and his people know that, and yet they've continued to do it. And frankly, I think it is one of the most destructive things that he has done. And listen. It's okay. I can take all the criticism you want. I have taken criticism my whole career. It's okay. But you know, when you're inciting your followers to do things because he's saying that CNN sucks and isn't fair to him”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “No, no. Listen, you know, we've endured for years now his comments about the media and CNN in particular and the attacks on CNN. And as a result, the safety of our people for several years now has been a real issue. And then all of a sudden we found ourselves in the position where some lunatic was sending bombs to the people who work for us. And at the same time on that same day, the press secretary of the White House put out a statement in which she condemned all of those attacks on everybody but CNN. And at some point, frankly, I thought enough was enough.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “So I think that our job at CNN is to tell the truth and to stand on the side of pro-truth. I think the problem is in this day and age, I do understand that sometimes when you're pro-truth, it comes off as anti-Trump. In no way should we set out ever to be anti-Trump. We should always set out to be pro-truth. And all I encourage our shows and our anchors to be. To hold those in power accountable and to tell the truth. If that comes off as anti Trump, Then that's just the byproduct of being pro-truth.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “CNN, and I think it's the combination of all of those reasons. CNN matters, it's relevant, it's an institution he grew up with, and he doesn't understand why I'm not fully loyal, are all of the reasons why he disproportionately attacks CNN.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “The fact is we've had this long 20 plus year relationship that for a long time was quite strong. And Donald Trump did not understand in the end that just because we were friends didn't mean he wasn't going to be subjected to the proper scrutiny. He didn't understand, he thought CNN should give him a pass because we were friends. He thought CNN should be like Fox News and just give him glowing coverage all the time. Listen, it's my opinion that he should get the coverage that's appropriate and that he deserves, but he's not going to get anything just because we're friends. And so I think that he does hold that against me.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “And he understands that CNN has a disproportionate amount of swing in independent voters that, frankly, MSNBC doesn't have and that he would like. So for all of those reasons, CNN is important. I also think that CNN to him is the institutions that he attacks the most, the New York Times, in the media. The New York Times Saturday Night Live and CNN are frankly the media institutions that he grew up with in New York that he cared about and whose respect he coveted. So I think that's a part of it. And then I think the third piece of it has to do with me.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “That is credible. Yeah. So I think it's both. And I'm not ducking the question. I really do genuinely think it's both reasons. Look, he obviously attacks CNN. He attacks CNN for a couple reasons. One, we're relevant, right? If we weren't relevant, if we didn't matter, he'd just ignore us. He understands that CNN matters. He understands that CNN matters in the United States and around the world.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “So I think that we made a mistake in airing as many of his rallies live and unedited as we did. I've said that before, and I've acknowledged it. And I said we made a mistake. Now, what's interesting to me is that our competitors did the same thing, and they've never acknowledged that they made a mistake. That's okay. I don't need them to do that. I only control what we do. Yes, we made a mistake. I do not believe that's why he's president of the United States. A lot of people want to assign that blame to us and to me. If only we had that much power. Especially on the Republican side. I do not believe that's why he's president of the United States. But I do think we made a mistake.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “Television Do you balance those things? But we're both. I mean, listen, I think that you cannot pretend that we're not a business. And by the way, doing journalism costs money and it costs a lot of money. And so you're running a business. And I don't think anyone should apologize for that. At the same time, we're running a journalistic organization and we should do what's important. And we should also do what's interesting. And I don't apologize for those two things. And I think they can coexist. And I think if anything over the last five, six years, that's what we've brought to CNN. And I think it's a mix of what's important and what's popular.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “So look Look, I'm not going to apologize. I think what a lot of people want is for people to say that you shouldn't apologize for giving the audience what they're interested in. This goes back to the plane, and we took a lot of heat for the poop cruise at one time. Listen, I think what we have always done, whether it was at the Today Show or CNN, is we've never been above what the audience is interested in. And I think this idea that you should only feed the audience spinach and you should tell them what's important. I reject that.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “I disagree with that, and I'll tell you why. You know, he announces, comes down the escalator, announces, and three weeks later, he's number one in the polls in the Republican Party, and he holds on to that till he becomes a Republican nominee. So he was the favorite among that entire field three weeks in. So I don't think that CNN made him number one in three weeks, okay? I think that he had that appeal. And we were covering the frontrunner. We would cover the frontrunner disproportionately in any race. So I don't.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “So, my reaction was the contents of that speech aside when he announced was that, look, I think that I recognized his popular appeal. I think that I understood from the apprentice and watching him and all of that that there was something about Trump and his character that was popular. And I thought would work. And I do think that that's one of the reasons that I had CNN pay attention right away to Donald Trump because I think at a time if you go back, the first couple months, most national news media organizations did not take it very seriously. CNN did right away. And we turned out to be right. Well, some would argue.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “No, he didn't talk to me about any of that. And I never really took it very seriously the first few times he flirted with it.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “I was at Jared Navanka's wedding as a guest of really Donald. I didn't know Jared Navanka all that well. I knew them a little bit, but Donald invited me.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “I did attend. I remember we flew overnight from Los Angeles with a big group of folks who knew Trump well from the apprentice. We attended the wedding at Marlago. As has been well documented by now, it was quite the star-studded event. But yes, he wanted us to broadcast it. And he wanted us to pay him to broadcast it. We said no thank you.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “And so, you know, we would talk quite often, and I would come back to New York quite often, and I would see him. And it was a really good one.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “I would talk to him several times a week because all he wanted to do was ever call and talk about ratings. That's all he ever wanted to talk about. And he would send me back in that day. There were faxes. Remember fax machines? He would send me faxes of newspaper clippings and things like that.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “Of course, he was an actor. And he torqued it up and he was the caricaturized version of Donald Trump. But he was an actor and he loved it and he was good at it.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  23. “To this day, it does. It's something that obviously we recognize. But yes, the scene in the apprentice where the boardroom, we recognized early on that that was where the heat was. And so original pitch was that that was going to be the last 10 minutes of the show. But he was charismatic and dynamic in that boardroom. And so we told Mark Burnett, you know, we actually want it to be 25 minutes. And so the show turned into be the whole Donald Trump boardroom.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  24. “Well, of course. Okay, so let me just finish, but you're right about that. So we told Mark Burnett he couldn't leave the NBC studio a lot until we got the show, and we bought it. And I turned out to be right that Donald Trump became our best publicist for the show because he would just call the newspapers all the time. He would call them and say, we're the number one show in television. Now, we weren't the number one show in television. We were doing great. But by the way, that worked for us at the time because if he wants to, that's a habit.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  25. “Even if it didn't work, Donald Trump was a publicity magnet, and that he would bring us so much free promotion and marketing in a way that we could never spend enough money to get it marketed because I knew that he was a tabloid king and that the New York Post and the New York Daily News would put him on the cover of those tabloids all the time. And I'm not sure that the folks who were in Los Angeles appreciated that.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  26. “So, I did know Trump from my years in New York, and he had been on the Today Show numerous times, and so we had a relationship. When Mark Burnett pitches this show, which is basically he had done Survivor, he pitches us Survivor in a different jungle, the jungle of Wall Street and New York, and he attaches Donald Trump to it, I immediately got it. In a way that I don't think my competitors at the other entertainment networks in Los Angeles understood, they were all from Los Angeles. I was from New York. Yes, we wanted a big hit, a big reality show, so that appealed to us. But I understood the appeal of Donald Trump in a way that I don't think anybody else did. I knew for a fact that if we bought this show,”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  27. “Big Boeing airliner just disappear. And so I thought that there was tremendous interest. And we were right. And that's why we went deep on it. There were a lot of people who were critical of it. I get it. That's fine. But I still feel we did the right thing.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  28. “So obviously I had confidence that it was the right thing to do, and I think it has been borne out over time that it was the right thing to do because what it did was bring audience back to CNN. And that's what we needed to do. And I think what people who criticized it didn't understand was that the media was changing. And the way people were learning about what was going on was from their phone. And they were really getting their headlines and their news from their phone. And what they were coming to television for was to go deep into whatever the big story that was going on and that interested them. They didn't want or need a wheel of news from television anymore. And so that's why we decided to go all in on, for instance, the missing airliner. I thought everybody gets on a plane, and how can a plane just disappear? I can find my iPhone down the block if I leave it somewhere.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  29. “And what breaking news happens really. Well, what people said about CNN at that time was that it was pretty much like the spare tire in the trunk. You only brought it out when you needed it and when there was big breaking news. And what we needed to do was we needed to make CNN more relevant all of the time, not just when there was big breaking news. That's part of why we started the original series and the documentaries. And it's also why we started then just going all in on whatever the big story was. Sometimes you got to.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  30. “The first thing I did was brought back the James Earl Jones. This is CNN signature audio because I thought that that signified CNN and I thought it was just a statement. And I did that on day one and I was, you know, and that was the first thing I did.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  31. “And it was broken. Exactly. So it was big, it was important and it was broken. And I thought that was an opportunity for me. And then the other thing was that it was news and it was live. And there was nothing I loved more than live television and news. And so all of those factors made it such that I was very interested in the job. And then I was fortunate enough that CNN was interested in me.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  32. “Channel, and I never looked at it that way because, you know, I wasn't, I don't need to impress anybody or the size of my title or the size of my office is not what defines me. And I wanted to do something that I was excited to do. And CNN really interested in me interested me for a couple reasons. One, I thought it was big. I thought it was important.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  33. “You know, a lot of mountains left to climb. The one thing that I still wanted to do in life was go home and run the Miami Dolphins, which I tell everybody. That's the one thing I would leave anything to go do. But that wasn't in the cards either. So I didn't know what I was going to do. And so it was a little bit of a strange time. For the first time in my life, when I woke up, I didn't know where I was going to go or what I was going to do. And that was hard. That was hard. You know, eventually CNN comes knocking. And, you know, CNN was looking for a new leader, and I was interested in it. And the reason I was interested, even though a lot of people thought, well, why would he go to CNN? It's so much smaller. He ran a huge media company. Why would he just go want to go run one?”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  34. “As I said, I was 45 years old and I had pretty much because I had had a lot of success at a very young age, I had done a ton of things, right?”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  35. “Well, look, you know, I don't really look at it that it turned out badly. I look at it that it was an incredible 25-year run, and at the end the company was sold and I was asked to leave. So I don't really look at it that it was an ignominious end. I look at it as, you know what? The company was sold, and I was asked to leave. But I was asked to leave. I'm not in denial about that.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  36. “So, look, I mean, listen, it was a hard time for me. I had spent my entire career and life at NBC, right? I went there. Remember, I got the job the day I graduated, went to work there in August of 1986. And spent the next 25 years there. It was the only thing I knew. It was the only building I had ever walked into to work at, right, in New York. And it was the only company I'd ever worked for. It was my life, right? So that was hard. That was hard to, you know, Except that that was over.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  37. “It's okay. Listen, I mean, I don't think that they asked me to leave because the late night debacle happened, which it did. I'm not. I don't ever deny that. I think they asked me to leave because they bought the company and they had their person who they wanted to run it. Absolutely. But to be clear, I was asked to leave.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  38. “I mean, listen, I acknowledge I went out there, I've always acknowledged through my life that I've been a little cocky. I think I went out there with a little bit of an attitude that was probably unhelpful to the situation. And, you know, I think we did a lot of good things. I think I made a lot of mistakes. And I think the community at that time didn't quite know what to make of me and wasn't necessarily rooting for me.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  39. “Well, I was, I don't think that Hollywood really understood why this news guy from New York was coming to run an entertainment division. And that's why Jack Welch, a GE and Bob Wright at NBC wanted me to go there. They didn't want a creature of Hollywood. But it set up a relationship that, you know, was not perfect.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  40. “Well, I mean, look, I do understand what's important, even though I still remain competitive. And, you know, sometimes I... I can be still hyper competitive. I do understand how lucky I am to be alive, and I do understand that. I think there's many times when I probably could have died through any of the colon cancers or any of the heart issues I've had. I know I'm lucky to be alive, and that has given me tremendous perspective. I don't take any of this for granted, and I've led a great life, but I am lucky, and I'm lucky to be alive.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  41. “You've had So look, I mean, if you really want to list them, it's been really hard. I've had colon cancer twice and I've had Bell's palsy. I've had open heart surgery. I've had five kidney stones. I've had gout. I've had three knee surgeries. And I'm probably leaving out some stuff.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  42. “And then eventually I was worried about it. And yeah, you know, look, I feel like I've. I feel like I've. Stared at the possibility of dying a couple times in my life. And, you know, look, not to get ahead of ourselves, but I have had an incredible life and I have led a charmed life. And I've I've had a lot of success. There have been some low points, but I've had a lot of success, and I've got four great kids and everything. But I have been tested with illnesses and Not just that”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  43. “Was supposed to be producing for NBC, and I watched it from my hospital room. And, you know, I remember that quite vividly.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  44. “No, it wasn't that I was worried that anybody's going to take the job. I didn't want anybody to think that this was going to get me down. I wasn't going to let this cancer get in the way. I wasn't going to let it beat me. And so I arranged for me to be able to take care of myself and to do my job. And, you know, I think that goes back to the competitive thing we were talking about earlier is that I was not going to let this beat me. And it was hard. It was hard. I got hospitalized one time during the chemotherapy because they gave me too much, which is what they try to do because they want to give you as much as you can. And I do remember in 96 my surgery was on Halloween. I remember watching the Halloween costume contest before on the Today Show before I went into surgery. And then I was in the hospital for election night of 96 that I”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  45. “Yeah, so it is true. The first time that I had cancer and I had to undergo the chemotherapy, I scheduled it Friday, late afternoon, went to the hospital, was hooked up to an IV, took the drip, and then went home and slept until about Sunday afternoon until it wore off and then got up Monday morning and went and did the Today Show. And I did not want anybody to think I couldn't do the job and I didn't”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  46. “Yeah, listen, I still to this day remember the phone call I got from the doctor to tell me I had cancer. I couldn't believe it. It was an incredibly frightened experience. I remember the day the doctor came to my hospital bed and told me that it had spread and I was going to have to undergo chemotherapy. And I cried again. It was an incredibly harrowing experience and very, very difficult.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  47. “But I was fortunate. And then what happened was when I was 34 in 1999 on a routine checkup Discovered for the second time that I had colon cancer, and it was not a recurrence. It was a second. It was a whole second episode. And so clearly now I'm 34. I've had colon cancer twice. It's clear that I have this propensity to grow tumors in my colon. So, what we did is, because they were going to keep coming back, it was clear. So the surgeons decided to remove as much of my colon as they could without giving me a colostomy bag. And so they took out 90% of my col Let me ask you something. Thankfully, I have had nothing since.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  48. “Yeah, I mean, I think that actually came a little later. But it was ironic that. Katie, who was so, we were so close and had grown up together like that on the show, then had to endure the same kind of illness and tragically her husband found his colon cancer too late and he did not survive. If anything, I was incredibly fortunate that my colon cancer at the age of 31, we got it. I did have to then go through nine months of chemotherapy because it had spread. But it came back.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  49. “All this with the Me Too stuff. I do think that there has been a tremendous change. Look, I think there was a change over time. The Mad Men era wasn't the same as it always was, but there was still bad behavior. I think the same thing was true in media. But I do think there's been a tremendous change, and there's much more recognition that bad behavior was going on and could not be tolerated.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  50. “At television and media and movies, has there always been a male-oriented belief that they were entitled? Unfortunately, yeah, that was the world that existed.”

    2018-12-03 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 291 — Jeff Zucker · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source