- WBD named Mark Thompson as CNN’s new CEO in a shift by David Zaslav to an experienced news leader.
- Insiders said Thompson’s familiarity with turnarounds and talent at the NYT will benefit CNN.
- His appointment also could help WBD if it decides to spin off CNN.
Ex-New York Times chief Mark Thompson, the newly named chairman and CEO of CNN, will bring needed big-newsroom experience and strong talent relations to the role, former colleagues and acquaintances told Insider.
Thompson comes to a CNN that endured crisis after crisis under former CEO Chris Licht, whose brief tenure was setback-filled as he struggled to win over viewers and staff with a new vision for the Warner Bros. Discovery news network.
The new chief executive will also be taking on a network that, like most of cable news, is a business in decline. CNN’s digital strategy, which was upended when WBD pulled the plug on newly launched CNN+ over a year ago, has begun to take shape, with WBD announcing in August that it will introduce a dedicated live CNN channel to its Max streaming app — but it’s playing catch-up with news rivals that have been operating and experimenting in the streaming space longer.
Thompson is widely credited with turning the Times into a digital powerhouse, transforming a news organization that was teetering financially. Over his years as its CEO, he leaned into data to identify the Times’ audience and serve them with mobile news and advertising products.
“What you can give him credit for is the most successful transformation of a news organization globally,” said Ken Doctor, a news analyst and longtime Times observer. “The job is to figure out where CNN fits in the market and where’s the audience they can serve and serve that audience well.”
Under Thompson, there also were flops along the way to success for the Times, like the failed NYT Now mobile app. He acknowledged them directly and encouraged people to move on, which was reassuring, a Times insider said.
Thompson also was able to push the Times into new areas to generate fresh revenue streams.
He faced skepticism early on when he declared a goal of getting the paper to 10 million subscribers, unprecedented in digital news. His move to bring on COO Meredith Kopit Levien, who’d championed the branded content form of advertising — which was controversial at the Times — also raised eyebrows among news purists. Levien would eventually succeed Thompson as CEO.
There also could be tension with the newsroom, where there’s a clear separation with the business side. In one high-profile example, Thompson let data star Nate Silver and a favorite of then-executive editor Jill Abramson leave for ESPN rather than pay more to keep him.
“He’s a strategic, forward-looking thinker,” Abramson emailed of Thompson. “He won’t overpay for big names, or flavors of the week. He wouldn’t outbid ABC for Nate Silver when he was thinking of leaving the NYT and did leave. In retrospect, I think Mark was right.”
The coming 2024 presidential election will give CNN a chance to boost its falling ratings, but may also present a test for Thompson of how the network should cover former President Donald Trump.
Thompson is expected to be involved in editorial
Observers and insiders expressed optimism about the Thompson news. They also will be watching to see how he will carry out WBD CEO David Zaslav’s commitment to providing a wider range of political viewpoints, including conservative ones. Earlier in the search process, there was a question of whether Zaslav would look for a CEO to run the entire operation or someone to focus more on the news side.
A former Thompson colleague expected Thompson, with vast experience running two global news organizations, to be more involved in news coverage than he was at the Times.
“He wants to be involved in editorial,” this person said. “The role at CNN is overseeing both. He’ll be able to direct coverage when he needs to, but I think he’ll be more hands-off than [former CNN head] Jeff Zucker. Everything I’ve heard from CNN is, there’s a relentless focus on costs. Mark is capable of coming in and providing a strategy for the future.”
Zaslav picked Licht in early 2022, reportedly without interviewing any other candidates, and this second time around, he’d promised to conduct a wide search. Semafor reported another prominent British journalist, James Harding, was also in the running for the role this time.
In a staff note reviewed by Insider, Zaslav called out Thompson’s accomplishments building The New York Times into a successful online subscription business while CEO from 2012 to 2020; and at the BBC before that, developing its streaming service and expanding its web and smartphone services.
“Mark has been in the news business for more than four decades and, as many of you are aware, he has an exceptional track-record of innovation and excellence. I am confident he is exactly the leader we need to take the helm of CNN at this pivotal time,” Zaslav wrote.
Thompson’s hire could give WBD more options for CNN’s future
Company insiders expect CNN’s new leader will have to be great at managing talent to stabilize a newsroom that’s been shaken by Licht’s programming changes and criticism of their past work.
Some inside CNN may be disappointed that Zaslav hired an outside candidate and another white man rather than promoting an inside executive or bringing in a woman or person of color. WBD’s leadership team has been criticized for its homogeneity.
Former Thompson colleagues said cultivating relationships with stars like Andrew Ross Sorkin at the Times was one of the British media exec’s strong suits, reflecting his time at the BBC, where he served in a number of news roles before rising to director-general in 2004.
“He was always good at getting people to do what he wants,” a second Times insider said. “End of the day, he is talent; he’s made creative products before. He has receipts from that work.”
CNN’s appointment of a new CEO also gives WBD options for the network, said Jonathan Miller, chief executive of Integrated Media Co., which specializes in digital-media investments.
“On the assumption he does a good job, it gives them the option to continue owning CNN and have a healthy asset — or it’s more easily sold because it’s healthier and has strong, stable leadership,” Miller said. (WBD has said CNN isn’t for sale.)
WBD said CNN’s interim leadership team of Amy Entelis, EVP, Talent and Content Development; David Leavy, COO; Virginia Moseley, EVP of Editorial, CNN US; and Eric Sherling, EVP of US Programming, will stay in their roles, reporting to Thompson. Some expect Leavy, who’s been handling the business side, to move into another role, such as his previous role of chief corporate affairs officer at WBD. Leavy for his part said he has no plans to change roles.
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