CNN names Mark Thompson, ex-BBC director general, new chief executive

Thompson, 66, top executive at New York Times between 2012 and 2020, tasked with reviving US network's sagging ratings

Mark Thompson, the former BBC director general and chief executive of the New York Times, is the new chief executive of CNN, tasked with reviving a US news giant beset by falling ratings and profits.

In a message to staff on Wednesday, David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros Discovery, CNN's parent company, said: Mark has a formidable record, and I have long admired his leadership and ability to inspire organisations to raise their own ambitions and sense of what's possible - and achieve it.