Making it work will involve the tall order of reviving CNN’s ratings, stemming a drop in profits,

 Making it work will involve the tall order of reviving CNN’s ratings, stemming a drop in profits,

 managing the decline of the network’s traditional television business while finessing its shift to streaming. CNN took a big step in that direction last week with the announcement of CNN Max on WBD’s Max service, which will be a mix of certain shows broadcast live from the main feed and programming developed exclusively for the new platform. 

Then there’s the more fundamental task of bringing sustained order and morale to a company that has effectively been in a state of turmoil ever since Jeff Zucker was shown the door almost 19 months ago for having an undisclosed romantic relationship with a fellow CNN executive.

Thompson has already been calling around to certain figures within the organization, and he will begin making the rounds in person in the coming weeks, starting with the CNN command center at Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s far West Side. In a memo to employees on Wednesday, he wrote, “I’ve spent most of the past twenty years figuring out with colleagues at some of the world’s other great news operations not just how to survive the revolution, but to thrive in it and gain new audiences and revenue streams. I aim to do the same at CNN. It won’t be my plan that wins the day but our plan, the plan we devise and implement together.”