CNN has found its new CEO and chairman in the form of Mark Thompson, a former chief executive of the New York Times and general director of the BBC.
Thompson will take on his role with the news network starting Oct. 9 and will take the place held by the network’s former CEO, Chris Licht. The network’s new CEO will be required to address multiple challenges that CNN faces, such as the decrease in people watching network television, where CNN receives most of its revenue, according to a statement from Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company.
TREASURY PUSHES FOR HUGE TAX CREDITS FOR CLEAN ENERGY COMPANIES
“There isn’t a more experienced, respected or capable executive in the news business today than Mark, and we are thrilled to have him join our team and lead CNN Worldwide into the future,” said David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.
In accepting his new role, Thompson acknowledged the various problems CNN faces, as the network faces “pressure from every direction” and that there is “no magic wand” to make the network’s disruption go away. However, he noted that he sees “opportunity” within the disruption and is ready to get to work with the network.
CNN’s problem of losing viewership is a similar problem that Thompson dealt with when he was CEO of the New York Times because many people stopped reading the newspaper’s print issues and instead read the news online. Thompson was then able to reform the New York Times and use the digital landscape to the newspaper’s advantage.
Before taking on his role with the New York Times, Thompson worked as the BBC’s director general, during which he was criticized for his handling of an investigation of Jimmy Savile, a children’s television entertainer who was being investigated posthumously over allegations of child sex abuse. Thompson claimed in October 2012, shortly before he became CEO of the New York Times, that he “had no reason to believe that his conduct was a pressing concern,” according to the outlet.
CNN’s former CEO, Licht, was fired earlier this year in June after just over a year in the position. Prior to leaving CNN, Licht was under increased criticism from CNN hosts over programming decisions and also faced a lengthy piece in the Atlantic titled “Inside the meltdown at CNN,” which detailed his tenure with the network with interviews from the CEO over several months.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The network has lost several of its major stars in the last couple years, with Chris Cuomo fired from the network in December 2021 and Don Lemon fired in April 2023.
The announcement of Thompson’s appointment comes less than a week after Warner Bros. Discovery announced that CNN would be given a second try in the streaming world, with CNN Max being included on the company’s streaming platform, Max, and featuring a 24/7 livestream of content. CNN’s first attempt at streaming, CNN+, launched in April 2022 and was shuttered less than a month later.
