Good evening, and welcome to a special early edition of In The Room. Tonight, the exclusive scoop on CNN’s next chairman and C.E.O.

The announcement comes less than 100 days after Zaz ousted his first hand-picked divisional chief executive, Chris Licht, following what was widely seen as a disastrous thirteen-month run that ended with record-low ratings, widespread staff aversion to his leadership, and the epitaph of an Atlantic article. Since Licht’s departure, in early June, CNN has been helmed by a ​​quadrumvirate interim leadership group that has largely succeeded in stabilizing the anxieties of the rank-and-file and the well-paid anchor class, alike. The interim leadership team will continue overseeing their respective areas, but will now report to Thompson, who will have oversight over the entire CNN operation.

A single-minded executive, Zaz owned the Licht debacle and, as I reported late last week, appeared hellbent on bringing in Thompson—and only Thompson—to fix the Licht mess. In the post-Licht era of soul-searching, the executives inside WBD even seemed to articulate a surprising appreciation for what Jeff Zucker had accomplished during his historic tenure atop the business—realizing, albeit too late, that he’d brilliantly managed a culturally essential, complex, ego-filled EBITDA machine.

It’s notable that Zaz & Co. eschewed the usual suspects of TV people for the job and instead focused on a seasoned C.E.O. who once ran a news business that is essentially an heirloom of the British experience. (Zaz also had conversations with two other Brits: former ABC News president James Goldston, per sources familiar, and former BBC News director James Harding, who now runs the start-up Tortoise, as first reported by Semafor.) Zaz may have moved too fast in hiring Licht, but the Thompson appointment suggests that the company views CNN as not only a “reputational asset,” as Zaz has called it, but also an economic one.

Nevertheless, some members of the CNN leadership team were blindsided by Zaz’s decision to once again hire another outsider without running a formal, comprehensive executive search—and to do so at a time when CNN had finally achieved some semblance of stability after a chaotic period that began with Zucker’s abrupt ouster last February and didn’t end until Licht’s defenestration this June. The interim leadership, which consists of Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling and David Leavy, only found out about Zaz’s search for a C.E.O. and his interest in Thompson after Semafor’s Ben Smith broke that news earlier this month. Zaslav and other WBD executives had initially intimated that the interim leadership team would stay in place at least until next year and possibly until after the 2024 presidential election, which is still 14 months away. Alas, plans changed.

It remains to be seen how Thompson will be received inside Hudson Yards. At the Times, Thompson proved to be the rare outsider capable of evolving the business without alienating the lifers. But he is also known for taking a very hands-on approach to all aspects of the business, and several Times Company sources say he longed to have greater oversight over the editorial operation there, as well. In that regard, at least, he is likely to be a Zucker-like leader. In his alacrity for managing a balance sheet, he might be a bit like Zaslav, too.