The Facts
Former New York Times and BBC leader Mark Thompson has been named as CNN's next chairman and CEO, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced Wednesday.
Thompson served as CEO and president of the Times from 2012 to 2020 — gaining praise for helping guide the newspaper from a traditional publication to a digital-first organization — and as director-general of the BBC from 2004-2012.
The Spin
Narrative A
If anyone can turn CNN around and bring the network to prosperity, it's Mark Thompson. Everywhere he’s gone, Thompson has made his organization better than when he had gotten there, and he has ample experience in bringing legacy media outlets into the digital age. It certainly won’t be an easy task, but Thompson has all the skills and knowledge to revive CNN as a media powerhouse.
Narrative B
Mark Thompson has little to no chance of restoring CNN after it has spent the last decade desecrating itself as a biased propaganda machine. While he may have all the establishment credentials, it is hard to envision a way he can turn around the disaster that is CNN. Many have failed to help CNN in recent years, and Thompson will likely join the long list of disgraced executives.
