It seems like several eons ago now, but it’s actually been just one year and a week since Mark Thompson was formally announced as chairman and C.E.O. of CNN. In many ways, his first year (ish, since he technically started in October) was remarkable for just how unremarkable it was. In that same span of time, of course, his predecessor Chris Licht had managed to spectacularly bungle at least a half a dozen consequential programming decisions—a disastrous morning show, an uninspired primetime overhaul, a humiliating Trump town hall, etcetera—drive off some of the network’s most valuable on- and off-air talent, unskillfully execute mass layoffs, and, most notably, alienate the network’s core audience.