CNN President Jeff Zucker gets in the gutter to attack Roger Ailes

Was Ailes comment that CNN was getting out of the news business tough?  Sure, but they have added shows such as one that looks at exotic food from around the world.  After all you have the New York Daily News running this story.

In September, Zucker tapped cable veteran Albie Hecht to run HLN. Hecht, who has no real background in news, has specialized in entertainment programming at the helm of Nickelodeon and Spike TV. . . . . 

Bolstering Zucker’s case for change,  CNN’s most-watched show is the food-centric travelogue “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,” and its third-most-watched program is Morgan Spurlock’s “Inside Man.” . . .

Zucker's attack back seems quite different in nature.  If bringing up factually challenged Gabe Sherman is the best Zucker can do, he is in trouble.  From Politico:

"For CNN to also throw in the towel and announce they're out of the news business is quite interesting," Ailes told The Hollywood Reporter. "That means Fox has won the cable news wars. [Zucker] had a big hit with a whale one night [the documentary Blackfish]. I guess he's going to do whales a lot. If I were Discovery, I'd be worried." 

On stage Friday, Zucker called Ailes' claim a "silly criticism" meant to deflect attention from a new biography by Gabriel Sherman, which paints a critical portrait of the Fox News chief and has been the subject of much media attention. 

Sherman's biography" confirms what we've known all along" about Fox News and its pro-Republican message, Zucker said. . . .