CNN
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Mark Thompson, the CNN chief executive appointed last year to modernize the news network, unveiled a series of sweeping changes to the iconic news organization on Wednesday, announcing plans to build a billion-dollar digital business, experiment with artificial intelligence and overhaul key newsroom structures.
The sweeping measures, which Thompson described in a memo to employees as a “key step in CNN’s transformation,” will result in the layoff of about 100 employees, or about 3 percent of the workforce. Those employees, Thompson said, will be eligible for severance packages.
Since his appointment last year, Thompson has been outspoken about the challenges facing CNN, stressing to his staff that swift and sweeping action is needed to reorient the television-focused news organization toward a digital future.
Like other traditional news organizations, CNN has for four decades relied heavily on the fees to distribute traditional cable news, a declining business that has been upended by the arrival of streaming services such as Netflix. While the company is still profitable in the hundreds of millions of dollars a year, pivoting the network’s business away from the declining cable business, which provides the bulk of CNN’s revenue, to position it for the future will be extremely difficult.
Art Streiber/Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
Mark Thompson officially took over as CNN’s chief executive officer and president on October 9 and will also serve as the network’s editor-in-chief.
“It doesn’t take a day to steer a major news organization into the future. It happens in stages and over time,” Thompson said in his memo to staff. “Today’s announcements do not answer every question or seek to solve every challenge we face. However, they represent an important step forward, and I hope you read them in that spirit.”
Thompson’s announcement of plans to build a digital subscription business generating more than $1 billion in revenue represents a cornerstone of his strategy to “future-proof” CNN. A direct-to-consumer subscription product has long been seen by CNN executives as the answer to the revenue declines caused by the decline of linear television.
The previous management launched CNN+, a subscription streaming service that was quickly shut down when CNN’s parent company, WarnerMedia, merged with Discovery to form Warner Bros. Discovery. The siloed news streaming service didn’t fit with Warner Bros. Discovery’s business strategy, which called for a super-streamer akin to cable news. CNN now has a much more affordable streaming service, CNN Max, which co-exists with other brands like HBO within its parent company’s Max streaming service.
Thompson, who did not provide details when announcing his plans to create a digital subscription service, said CNN would create “products that deliver much-needed news, analysis and context in compelling new formats and experiences.” He added that the first product would launch by the end of 2024.
Thompson, who previously served as chief executive of The New York Times, had sought to expand the paper’s offerings beyond basic news, acquiring the review website The Wirecutter and launching the paper’s cooking vertical, among other moves.
“We want to grow CNN.com’s reach by focusing on engagement and frequency (how much time our users spend with us and how often they return) by improving the quality of the product experience and giving users strong reasons to come back to us more often,” Thompson said in his note.
As he works to modernize CNN’s operations, Thompson unveiled plans to embrace artificial intelligence tools, with the goal of “recapturing the pioneering spirit that Ted Turner spoke about at our founding and regaining a leadership position in the news experiences of the future.”
Thompson said CNN would make a “strategic effort” in the area of AI to “determine how best to safely leverage this emerging new technology to serve our audiences and achieve our journalistic goals more effectively and responsively.”
The transformational measures he has taken will also include a radical overhaul of CNN’s newsroom, which has been divided into three divisions: U.S. television, international television and digital. Thompson said the structural changes he is implementing will unite the three branches under one roof.
CNN will also adopt a “follow the sun” model, in which reporting is overseen at all times by the company’s bureaus around the world. As part of that effort, Thompson said CNN’s Hong Kong bureau will see its role “expand” and the organization will “make greater use” of its bureaus in London and Los Angeles.
“This will streamline newsgathering workflows and bring editorial direction closer to the story,” Thompson said. “It will allow us to better meet a broader range of platform needs around the clock and allow us to scale newsroom resources when the news cycle takes an unexpected turn.”
While Thompson focused primarily on digital offerings, he also announced plans to breathe new life into CNN’s television programming. Thompson said Charlie Moore, the longtime executive producer of “Anderson Cooper 360” who was recently promoted to vice president of primetime programming, will “find ways to further develop and strengthen” the network’s television offerings. Thompson also announced the creation of a “TV Futures Lab” that will “not only develop and manage streaming and (video on demand) programming for the Max platform, but also lead new thinking on how to migrate the linear news experience to other new digital environments.”
The changes come after years of strategy changes and budget cuts at the pioneering cable news network. The company no longer has a clear direction after the abrupt departure of longtime executive Jeff Zucker in early 2022.
Warner Bros. Discovery then named veteran television producer Chris Licht to replace Zucker. Licht was forced to lay off hundreds of employees early in his tenure and never laid out a clear path for CNN to move into the digital future. In addition to his lack of vision, Licht’s brief one-year tenure was marked by a series of serious missteps.
Thompson, who is credited with revitalizing the Times, was named CNN’s chief executive last summer after Licht’s tumultuous tenure in the role. Since then, Thompson has spoken tirelessly about the need to transform CNN’s business but has largely avoided providing specifics. Thompson’s announcement Wednesday indicates that he is now ready to implement a more concrete plan.
Whether Thompson will be able to build a billion-dollar digital news business at CNN remains to be seen. Time is also of the essence for Thompson, as the cable news industry continues to crumble. At the Times, the newspaper announced earlier this year that its digital subscription business would generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue, more than a decade after Thompson took the helm and began implementing changes.
This story has been updated with additional context and developments.