CNN boss Mark Thompson. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)
On Wednesday, from CNN’s home in Hudson Yards, network chief Mark Thompson hosted an all-hands meeting with employees. The quarterly gathering offers Thompson a chance to brief staffers on the state of the company as it embarks on a high-stakes digital transformation while also giving employees the opportunity to pose questions directly to leadership.
This particular meeting landed at an especially fraught moment, as speculation continues to swirl about the very future of the network. Netflix is currently locked in an ugly battle with Paramount over the fate of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. If Netflix prevails, as all signs currently suggest, CNN would spin off later this year alongside the conglomerate’s other cable assets into a new company, Discovery Global Networks. If David Ellison manages to pull a rabbit out of his hat, the plan would look very different.
In any event, Thompson used Wednesday’s forum to strike an optimistic tone about CNN’s future, clearly aiming to calm the nerves of thousands of staffers amid intensifying speculation about the network’s direction. He discussed the deal Netflix has struck with WBD, reiterated that the plan remains for CNN to spin off with the rest of the linear assets, and stressed that leadership is committed to the network’s long-term future.
According to a partial transcript of Thompson’s remarks obtained by Status, Thompson…
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Fox News attacks MS NOW for mistakenly airing an altered photo of Alex Pretti. (Screen grab via SnapStream)
Status Scoop | MAGA’s MS NOW Myth: This week, if you’ve spent any time in right-wing media, you’ve probably seen the claim that MS NOW digitally altered a photo of Alex Pretti to make him look more attractive. It's a line that’s been repeated on Fox News, Joe Rogan's popular podcast, MAGA Media shows, in viral X posts, on TikTok, and elsewhere. But a spokesperson for the network, Richard Hudock, told Status that the root claim is false. What happened, Hudock explained, is that…
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