Jeff Zucker Defends CNN's Justin Bieber Coverage

CNN chief Jeff Zucker defended his network's heavy interest in Justin Bieber during an interview on Monday.

CNN drew scrutiny for its intense coverage of Bieber's arrest last week. On the day the story broke, the network devoted as much time to the arrest as MSNBC and Fox News put together.

Speaking in Washington, Zucker dismissed the criticism. Variety reported that he cast the story as just one of many CNN tackled.

"I’m incredibly comfortable with the way CNN covered the Justin Bieber story," he said. "...The Bieber coverage was never wall-to-wall…I don’t think CNN had it out of proportion at all." He noted that CNN had aired interviews with several world leaders on Sunday, and concluded, "CNN is about interviewing world leaders, and covering what happened in Maryland, and about Anthony Bourdain, and about Justin Bieber. We have the ability to do all of that."

Read more of Zucker's comments at Variety.