Susan Zirinsky Biography
Susan Zirinsky is a journalist and television news producer from the United States. She served as CBS News President from January 2019 until April 2021, when she was succeeded by Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon. From 1996 to 2019, she was the executive producer of 48 Hours.
How old is Susan Zirinsky? – Age
She is 70 years old as of 3 March 2021. She was born in 1952 in New York, New York, United States.
Susan Zirinsky Family
Cynthia (née Finkelstein) and Richard Zirinsky are her parents. Barbara Zirinsky Faden, her sister, died of cancer in 1999 at the age of 50. Her mother, who works as a mental health care professional, founded Gracie Square Hospital in New York City. Her father was a real estate developer in New York City. The Richard and Cynthia Zirinsky Center for Bipolar Disorder is located at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and is named after her parents for their philanthropy.
Susan Zirinsky Husband
She is married to Joseph Peyronnin. The couple married in 1984 and ais still together as of 2022. Peyronnin is also a journalist and Emmy Award winner. The Tiananmen Square Massacre was covered by the couple. They adopted a baby girl from China in 1996 and named her Zoe.
Susan Zirinsky Education
Zirinsky earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from American University in Washington, D.C., and went on to work in television journalism. She delivered the 123rd Commencement Address at American University’s School of Communication in 2009.
Susan Zirinsky Broadcast News Film
Broadcast News, a 1987 film, was inspired by Zirinsky’s time at the CBS News Washington Bureau in the early 1980s. She collaborated with director and screenwriter James L. Brooks on the film as an associate producer and technical advisor. She also assisted actress Holly Hunter in preparing to play her.
Hunter shadowed Zirinsky and cut her hair into a bob to resemble the producer. Hunter was given some of Zirinsky’s clothes to wear in the film. Hunter’s performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She has attended film screenings for young journalists and given talks about her career and the making of the film.
Susan Zirinsky Net Worth
Zirinsky has an estimated net worth of $1 million.
Susan Zirinsky Career
In 1972, Zirinsky, a 20-year-old sophomore at American University, joined the CBS News Washington Bureau. She worked as a production clerk on weekends. She assisted in the writing of stories about the Watergate Scandal during her senior year. After graduation, she continued to work for CBS in a variety of capacities.
Zirinsky was assigned to cover the White House for CBS for more than a decade. She worked with Marcy McGinnis and Lesley Stahl, who became her mentor, during this time. She has also worked on political campaigns and war assignments. During the Gulf War, she traveled to Kuwait with Dan Rather, where she produced the news and Rather reported live from Kuwait City. She is the show’s senior executive producer. She also creates CBS News breaking news specials. Bob Schieffer is one of her frequent collaborators. In the newsroom, she is known as “Z.”
Zirinsky will succeed David Rhodes as CBS News’ first female President and Senior Executive Producer on March 1, 2019. Rhodes will resign as president of CBS News due to declining ratings and the fallout from revelations from an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against CBS News figures, according to Rhodes and the CBS network. She was first approached about the position in 2011, but she declined because it would have taken her away from the work she enjoys, which is producing. Zirinsky has been described as a media icon, a legend, and a trailblazer.
She is only the second woman to lead a broadcast news network. Employees said the mood was upbeat after Zirinsky was named President and Senior Executive Producer of CBS News, and they hoped the appointment would boost morale after a scandal-plagued year. When CBS’s longtime CEO Les Moonves was forced out following a series of reports accusing him of sexual harassment, Zirinsky took over. Charlie Rose was fired as a result of the same revelations, and Jeff Fager, the 60 Minutes executive producer, was also forced out during Rose’s departure.
Female executives are scarce in the profession. The New York Times has had one female reporter in its 167-year history, while The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal have had none. In her role as President and Senior Executive Producer of CBS News, she is described as having to clean up after the bad boys, restore credibility at CBS, improve the ratings for the news programs that have seen their ratings slump, and chart the future for CBS News. With the announcement of Ryan Kadro, executive producer of CBS This Morning stepping down, high on her to-do list is finding a new executive producer for CBS This Morning. She was also charged with naming a full time permanent executive producer for 60 Minutes.
NBC News and Fox News each had one female news executive, while USA Today had three female top editors, including the current Editor in Chief Nicole Carroll. On January 10, 2019, Showtime announced changes in response to Moonves’ departure from CBS. Jana Winograde was named one of the cable network’s new entertainment presidents. She has collaborated with Dan Rather, Lesley Stahl, and Ed Bradley over the years. Zirinsky stated that she has never forgotten them and has photos of all three newscasters in her office.