CNN announces digital overhaul and job cuts

Mark Thompson, CNN Chief Executive outlined his plan in a memo to CNN staff, saying that it will result in about 100 employees, or about 3% of the workforce, being laid off.

A former BBC director general and New York Times CEO, Thompson was appointed as CEO of CNN in October 2023.

CNN is seeking to pivot away from the contracting cable industry, which provides the bulk of its revenue, to become an “integrated and significantly streamlined multimedia news operation,” according to Thompson.

He said the digital strategy included the launch of CNN.com’s first direct-to-consumer subscription product before the end of the year.

“We want to build on CNN.com’s reach with a new focus on engagement and frequency – how long our users spend with us and how often they return – by improving the quality of the product experience and giving users powerful reasons to come back to us more often,” Thompson said in his memo.

Thompson also said CNN would lean more heavily into video in its digital products. “Video will be at the heart of our future and a re-imagined video experience on every platform – from pure digital to streaming, FAST channels and more – it is essential for CNN’s future.”

Thompson also unveiled plans to embrace AI tools, saying CNN will make a strategic push into AI to “determine how best to safely harness this emerging new technology to serve our audiences and deliver our journalistic goals more effectively and responsively.”

The plan also includes an overhaul of CNN’s newsroom, which has been largely split into three divisions: US television, international television and digital. Thompson said the structural changes he is implementing will unify the three branches under one roof. IBC365