Jeff Zucker: Election Night Was CNN’s ‘Biggest Day in Our History’

By Mark Joyella 

In a note sent to CNN staff Thursday, CNN worldwide president Jeff Zucker said that after 18 months of the most historic and unusual presidential election in memory, “I have never been more proud to lead an organization than I am today.”

Zucker noted that “on Tuesday night, more people watched CNN than any other network, broadcast or cable. It was the biggest day in our history, on all of our platforms, television and digital.”

CNN led among total viewers (13.25 million) and in the demo (6.65 million) in prime time, and was first in the key demo for overall coverage (7 p.m. through 3 a.m. ET) with 5.654 million.

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And Zucker said that throughout the entire campaign, “CNN was the place to come for the best reporting, in-depth analysis, honest conversation and tough questions. We never shied away from tackling the tough issues that face the United States.”

Here’s the full memo:

November 10, 2016

You did it. For 18 months, every single one of us at CNN Worldwide touched our election coverage in one way or another. On Tuesday night, more people watched CNN than any other network, broadcast or cable. It was the biggest day in our history, on all of our platforms, television and digital.

It should come as no surprise, because from the moment we began covering this election, we proved that CNN was the place to come for the best reporting, in-depth analysis, honest conversation and tough questions. We never shied away from tackling the tough issues that face the United States.

I always hesitate to single out individuals, for fear of excluding anyone. In the case of our election coverage, I do want to pay tribute to Eric Sherling, under the relentless leadership of Sam Feist, for what he did to make our Election Night coverage extraordinary. Of course, thousands of you around the world did the work. In front of the camera and out in the field. In editing rooms and audio booths. Across the country and around the clock. Every aspect of this organization was involved.

Much will be said about the role the media played in this historic election cycle. Books will be written, experts will opine and hands will be wrung. I am a strong believer in learning from experience, and there will be ample time at CNN to think about what we learned about our reporting and our audiences, and use that information to continually make our journalism better. With that said, I can tell you one thing for certain, already. I have never been more proud to lead an organization than I am today. You each gave everything you had to make our coverage unparalleled. And it showed. Every single day. Thank you for being the best in the business. And congratulations on a job tremendously well done.

Jeff

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