Allison Gollust to Head CNN Communications

CNN Press Release - Allison Gollust will join Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. as senior vice president of communications for CNN Worldwide. In her new role, which she assumes in March, Gollust will have oversight of all messaging strategy and execution on behalf of the portfolio of CNN networks and businesses, which includes CNN/U.S., HLN and CNN.com, as well as domestic operations of CNN International and CNN en Español. She will serve as chief spokesperson for the news brand and will lead publicity and public relations teams in New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Los Angeles. Gollust will be based in New York and will report to Jeff Matteson, senior vice president of communications for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., while working closely with her longtime colleague Jeff Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide.

“Allison is among the most experienced and respected communications executives in the media industry, and her close working relationship with Jeff Zucker is one of its most successful professional partnerships,” said Matteson. “The regard in which she is held by the press and her peers; her reputation for integrity, accessibility and candor; her ability to lead talented teams; and her importance to Jeff as an adviser and spokesperson make her a great fit for this key role, and a great addition to Turner Broadcasting’s leadership ranks.”

“In the 15 years that Allison and I have worked together, I’ve depended on her judgment, counsel and relationships,” said Zucker. “Allison is joining CNN at an exciting time, and she and the strong communications team she’s inheriting will play a critical role in shaping the organization and its story going forward. It’s great to have her at CNN.”

Most recently, Gollust served as communications director for New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.  Prior to that, she was executive vice president of corporate communications for NBC Universal, where she oversaw all aspects of the company’s global communications efforts.  She started at NBC in the Corporate Communications group in 1996 and was named senior publicist for Today in 1997.  With successive promotions, Gollust added responsibility for communications efforts supporting NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and the Weather Channel, and signature programs including NBC Nightly News, Dateline and Meet the Press.  She began her career as a news anchor, reporter and producer in Denver.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is the most trusted source for news and information.  Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the number-one network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic partnerships within both television and digital media.