CNN forced Allison Gollust to resign after an investigation found she allegedly tried to help shape an interview with then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo

The New York Times

Gollust, who left CNN this week as its longtime longtime chief of communications and marketing, made headlines earlier this month for being in a relationship with Jeff Zucker that led to his ouster as CNN president. But it turns out, Gollust, who once worked for Cuomo, tried to help shape CNN's coverage of the governor, reports The New York Times. Before a March 2020 interview early on in the pandemic, "Governor Cuomo had told a senior CNN executive, Allison Gollust, about subjects that he’d like to be asked about on air, according to several people familiar with the matter," report The Times' Michael M. Grynbaum, John Koblin and Emily Steel. "Ms. Gollust, CNN’s longtime chief of communications and marketing and a former top aide of the governor, passed along the topics to CNN producers and then reported back to the governor. 'Done,' she wrote. On Tuesday, Ms. Gollust was forced to resign from CNN after an internal investigation found a trove of written communications between her and Governor Cuomo, including messages about the March 2020 appearance, the people said. Jeff Zucker, who at the time was CNN’s president, was aware of many of the communications between Ms. Gollust and the governor, the people said. The episode is the latest example of how closely entwined CNN’s leadership was with one of the country’s most prominent Democratic politicians. While producers and bookers for news shows typically talk to interview subjects of time, it's unusual for a senior executive like Gollust to be involved in the pre-interview process -- especially since she used to work for Cuomo. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Gollust says her communications with Cuomo were appropriate and “in no way suggested that inclusion of these topics was a condition of the interview, nor did she suggest the interview should be limited to these subjects."