CNN digital chief to step down as CEO Mark Thompson preps new strategy
Three months after officially joining CNN, chief executive officer Mark Thompson will soon be laying out a fresh strategy for the troubled news operation.
Thompson, in a memo to staff Wednesday, said Athan Stephanopoulos, CNN executive vice president and chief digital officer, will depart at the end of January after just 15 months at the company. Stephanopoulos, who previously ran digital news brand NowThis., was hired by Thompson’s predecessor Chris Licht, who was fired last June after a brief, tumultuous tenure as CNN’s CEO.
“Since his arrival, Athan has been a strong and capable leader of our digital team and a collaborative colleague across the organization,” Thompson wrote. “I know that everyone who’s worked alongside him at CNN will want to join me in thanking him for everything he’s done for us and to wish him every success in his next chapter.”
CNN produces much of its original television content out of New York, but Atlanta remains the backbone of CNN’s web operations.
On Wednesday, Puck’s Dylan Byers on X reported Thompson is pursuing former CNN executive Alex MacCallum to take over the network’s digital strategy and CNN’s media writer Oliver Darcy confirmed it. MacCallum has been chief revenue officer for The Washington Post but stepped down on Wednesday. She was previously head of products and interim digital chief for CNN under Jeff Zucker, who was fired in 2022. She has also previously worked at The New York Times overseeing new products and ventures under Thompson when he was chief executive officer of that publication.
While CNN’s website remains one of the most popular English news sites in the world, the brand still generates the bulk of its profits from its primary cable network. But that portion of the business is facing numerous challenges as more viewers watch streaming services and cut ties with traditional cable services.
Stephanopoulos, in a statement provided by CNN, said “in order to give him the freest hand possible to structure and shape the organization moving forward, I felt that now was the best time for me to step back from my role and move on to a new chapter.”
CNN, which has about a quarter of its 4,000 employees based out of Atlanta, has rejiggered its daytime, primetime and weekend lineups in recent months. The parent company Warner Bros. Discovery in late September also added CNN Max to the HBO Max streaming service. (A separated paid subscription-based CNN+ was scuttled soon after Discovery took over the company in 2022.)
While on-air talent is largely out of New York, their behind-the-scenes producers are largely based out of Atlanta, where the network’s live feeds emanate from CNN Center. (Most Atlanta-based CNN employees are now at the Midtown Ted Turner campus but a few remain downtown.)
Atlanta is also home to a bulk of CNN International and CNN Digital operations.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
