Overview
- Media newsletter Status, citing two people familiar, reported that Mark Thompson told staff on Thursday to scale back stories on President Trump’s East Wing demolition, saying viewers were not interested.
- CNN called the report “reckless and irresponsible conjecture” with “zero truth” and confirmed Thompson visited the White House to discuss the network’s direct-to-consumer streaming product.
- No outlet has independently corroborated the Status account, though multiple publications repeated the claim while including CNN’s denial.
- Status said some Washington-based journalists found the timing of Thompson’s reported guidance “bizarre” and were “taken aback” following his White House visit.
- Coverage tied the dispute to Warner Bros. Discovery’s active sale process and broader concerns about newsroom independence as the East Wing ballroom project draws public criticism and a White House rebuttal of “manufactured outrage.”