Former BBC and New York Times chief executive Mark Thompson was named Wednesday president and chief executive of CNN, a television channel that has gone through two leaderships and lost viewers in the past two years.
Thompson, chosen by the station’s owner, Warner Bros., will replace Chris Licht, fired in June, effective October 9.
Mark Thompson, who left The Times in 2020 after eight years as president and director of the company, is associated with the newspaper’s transition towards a logic that is more dependent on subscribers than on the advertising market.
The Englishman, knighted by the British government this year, was director general of the BBC between 2004 and 2012.
“I have long admired Mark’s transformational leadership and his ability to inspire organizations to raise their own ambitions and sense of what is possible, and achieve it,” the director said in a note to CNN staff. from Warner Bros., David Zaslav.
In a statement, Thompson wrote that broadcast journalism is nearing the peak of disruption, noting that the company has yet to implement a streaming service.
“Where others see a threat, I see an opportunity,” said the future director of CNN.
At the Times, Thomson focused more on business than journalism.
CNN will give him a larger role, similar to the one he played at the BBC, where he gradually worked his way up to the top.
Zaslav said the four interim directors will remain with CNN and report to Thompson.
Source: TSF
