Jeffrey Zucker (b. April 9, 1965) is an American television executive and president of the NBC Universal Television Group. He is known for his aggressive promotion of his network's programs.
Born in Miami, Florida, he was a stringer for the Miami Herald. Before college, Zucker took part in Northwestern University's National High School Institute Program for journalism. Zucker received his B.A. in American history from Harvard University in 1986. At Harvard, Zucker was selected president of the school newspaper The Harvard Crimson, surprising many who thought the post would go to Michael Hirschorn. As President of the Crimson, Zucker encouraged the decades-old rivalry with the Harvard Lampoon, headed by future NBC colleague, Conan O'Brien. (The Crimson's editors now joke that since Zucker is O'Brien's boss, those who want to get ahead in life should choose to join The Crimson over the Lampoon). When he was not admitted to Harvard Law, he was hired by NBC to research material for its coverage of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. In 1989, he was a producer for The Today Show and became its executive producer in 1992. He introduced rock concerts on the show and is also credited for incorporating a mass live audience, most prominently through a window on the city.
In 2000, he was named NBC's entertainment president and, in 2003, was put in charge of NBC's news and cable operations as well. Following the merger with French media empire Vivendi Universal, he was promoted to president of its television group in May 2004. On December 15, 2005, Zucker was again promoted by NBC to chief executive behind chairman Robert Charles Wright [1].
Zucker was responsible for bringing Donald Trump's The Apprentice to television. However, NBC has mostly struggled under Zucker's watch. In fact, because he has enjoyed a series of promotions despite the declining rankings of his network, Zucker is widely considered to have "failed upward" http://newyorkmetro.com/nymetro/news/columns/imperialcity/14583/index.html]. Consequently, a new site was created calling for his dismissal (See Fire Jeff Zucker).
References
- Ronald Grover. "Jeff Zucker: Life Without Friends." Business Week. September 27, 2004.