CNN Names Mark Thompson As New CEO

CNN has named Mark Thompson, a former top executive at The New York Times and the BBC, as its new CEO and chairman as the network gears up to cover the 2024 presidential election, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery said Wednesday.

Thompson will officially take over on Oct. 9, a press release by the company states.

“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,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said.

Thompson comes in at a critical time for CNN as the organization contends with lower ratings amid the inevitable decline of cable news, which for now remains a highly profitable business, and the need to tread its future in the digital space.