CNN appoints former BBC director general as chief executive

ATLANTA, Aug 31: Ex-BBC and New York Times boss Sir Mark Thompson has been appointed to lead CNN following a series of crises and falling ratings at the US news network.

Sir Mark replaces Chris Licht, who struggled to stabilise CNN in his 13 months as chairman and CEO.

The network has also been through the firings of star anchors Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon, and the closure of streaming service CNN+ after just one month.
Sir Mark must also guide CNN during the 2024 US presidential election.

That challenge will coincide with coverage of criminal charges against Donald Trump.

The network has had a famously tempestuous relationship with the former US president, who unsuccessfully tried to sue CNN for defamation, claiming it had created a "false and incendiary association" between him and Adolf Hitler following the last election.

A CNN interview with Mr Trump in May was widely criticised, including by the network's own Christiane Amanpour. Mr Licht stepped down weeks later.

CNN's previous boss Jeff Zucker had been forced to resign in February 2022 after failing to disclose a romantic relationship with a senior executive.     �BBC