THIS IS HUGE: CNN CEO Mark Thompson just told his employees directly that Trump’s press ban is a fight for something much bigger than the network itself.
Speaking at an internal all hands meeting Wednesday, Thompson made his position unmistakably clear, according to New York Times reporter Ben Mullin.
“This is a fight,” Thompson told employees. “It’s not a fight against the President. It’s not a fight against the White House. It’s fight FOR our fundamental rights as both journalists and citizens. And we are fighting on behalf of the American people and in many ways the world in terms of the right to hold any administration or government to account.”
Read that again. CNN’s own CEO framing this not as a partisan battle, but as a defense of a right every American depends on: the ability to hold power accountable.
Thompson also made clear CNN isn’t fighting this alone.
He pointed to support from across the political spectrum, including conservative outlets like Fox News, which joined the boycott of White House press pool duties after Trump’s ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico last Friday.
This is a CEO standing in front of his own newsroom, naming exactly what’s at stake and affirming the network won’t back down. Not a press release. Not a statement crafted for headlines. A direct message to the people doing the reporting every day.
