Will Mark Thompson Be CNN’s Magic Bullet?: “If He Can’t Make This Work, Then No One Can”

DeSantis Presses Pause • Vivek’s Drek • Epstein’s Schemes [View in your browser]( | [Update your preferences](newsletter=vf) [Vanity Fair Hive logo image]( Will Mark Thompson Be CNN’s Magic Bullet?: “If He Can’t Make This Work, Then No One Can” Good morning from the Hive newsroom! Fresh off Mark Thompson’s naming as CNN’s new CEO, Joe Pompeo [asks]( whether the former BBC and New York Times chief has what it takes to turn the network around after a rocky year under Chris Licht. “He has led two enormous, complicated, world-class news organizations,” one CNN journalist says of Thompson. “He seems like the transformational leader we need at exactly this moment,” says another. Elsewhere, Molly Jong-Fast [opines]( that while Vivek Ramaswamy might boast a potent mix of charisma and conspiracism, he doesn’t offer the GOP anything new. Plus, Eric Lutz [catches]( Ron DeSantis putting a pause on his presidential campaign as Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida. Thanks for reading! [Will Mark Thompson Be CNN’s Magic Bullet?: “If He Can’t Make This Work, Then No One Can”]( By [Joe Pompeo]( [CNN employees, craving stability after the turbulent Chris Licht era, are encouraged by their incoming CEO’s leadership of The New York Times and the BBC. (“He should have been the choice in the first place,” says one.) But daunting challenges await.]( [Read more button](   [From Trump to Vivek: The GOP Is Primed for Another Charismatic Phony]( By [Molly Jong-Fast]( [Ramaswamy’s post-debate blitz speaks to the priorities of the media—and state of the Republican base.]( [Read more button](   [Hurricane Idalia Forces Ron DeSantis to Pause Campaigning. His Politics Are Still in Play]( By [Eric Lutz]( [The presidential hopeful returns to Florida amid two crises: a racist shooting in Jacksonville, and a deadly storm. Critics say DeSantis’s policies have made the state more vulnerable to both.]( [Read more button](   [UNC’s Student Journalists Make a Searing Front-Page Statement in the Wake of Campus Shooting]( By [Charlotte Klein]( [The Daily Tar Heel filled its spread with panicked text messages students sent while under lockdown, in a stirring display that is still reverberating across the mainstream media.]( [Read more button](   [Jeffrey Epstein Tried to Weasel His Way Into Donald Trump’s Political Orbit: Report]( By [Caleb Ecarma]( [The convicted sex offender reportedly scheduled multiple meetings with informal Trump adviser Thomas Barrack and donor Peter Thiel, years after his schism with the ex-president.]( [Read more button](   Get on the list Subscribe to our Hollywood newsletter for your essential industry and awards-season news, every day. [Sign Up Now](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn](   This e-mail was sent to you by The Hive. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, vanityfair@newsletter.vf.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Sent from Condé Nast, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007 Copyright © 2023 Condé Nast