It is possible that in his search forCNNs next boss, Warner Bros.
Discovery CEODavid Zaslavsimply checked back through the news networks archives.
Sat in a wood-paneled kitchen in Maine, Thompson chuckled.
CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump in 2016
I like big challenges, that should be fairly apparent.
That might come in the shape of another big executive job, he told Quest.
Im interested in the puzzle of how you help organizations confront the present and the future.
CNN is, as Thompson once put it, a big bone to chew on.
The only surprise is this didnt happen 12 months ago, says a senior CNN journalist.
To many, the hire looks like a no-brainer.
In football they say, Show us your trophies.
Thompsons challenge at CNN will have echoes of his old jobs.
In essence, it is a depreciating legacy media brand with a messy digital strategy.
He will inherit a byzantine monolith, staffed by 4,000 journalists in newsrooms sprawled across the world.
CNN+ was ruthlessly trashed without an obvious alternative.
Its a Herculean task, says someone familiar with Thompson and CNN.
All he has to do is bring the staff with him [on the journey].
The prediction came to pass, but those who know Thompson believe that journalism remains his first love.
He talks newsroom, says a long-time ally.
He always used to say how youre not a proper journalist until youve heard gunfire when youre reporting.
It did not go unnoticed in the CNN newsroom.
Thompsons intellect and management skills meant he ultimately swapped the frontline for the bottom line.
He was always tipped for the top.
Mark Damazer, another ex-colleague, says Thompsons ability to crunch problems was unmatched.
Like many successful leaders, he is capable of being ruthless.
Thompson has never denied sinking his teeth into a colleague, but claims it was horseplay.
Ultimately, history has been reasonably kind to his tenure as BBC editor-in-chief.
These days, hes more than just an Englishman in New York.
Hes quite clubbable, says one acquaintance.
Thompson and the Warner Bros.
Discover boss will have encountered each other in the past and not always seen eye-to-eye.
Mark will know what hes dealing with [in Zaslav], says a former Discovery executive.
He would have negotiated himself a certain amount of freedom to roam.
Zaslav is not a news guy and Mark is, which gives him an edge.
Its an interesting marriage.
It will be straight to voicemail.
He believes its a manageable problem in the way that he would, the friend says.
He will have established the coordinates of what success might look like.
Thompson has said that it is not a challenge he will tackle alone.
It wont be my plan that wins the day but our plan.
Ted Johnson contributed to reporting.
