Jim VandeHei vs Mark Thompson

Jim VandeHei

CEO of AXIOS

BIO: Jim VandeHei was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and graduated from Lourdes High School in 1989. In 1995, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh with a double major in journalism and political science. As an undergraduate, he interned at The Brillion News in Brillion, WI the summer of 1993, and with Democratic Senator Herb Kohl in 1994, which led to his decision to become a political journalist. After working as a sports reporter for the Oshkosh Northwestern, VandeHei moved to Washington, D.C. In 1995, began working for Inside Washington Publishers. In 1996, he was hired by "Inside the New Congress," a weekly newsletter that focuses on the House and Senate. In 1997, he began working as a reporter for Roll Call, which covers Capitol Hill. While at Roll Call, VandeHei broke the story of House Speaker-elect Bob Livingston's affairs in 1998. He was the first to report in 1998 that Republicans were formally planning to impeach Bill Clinton. After a stint as a national political reporter for The Wall Street Journal in 2000, VandeHei joined The Washington Post and in 2006, VandeHei left The Washington Post to found a new political publication, Politico. In 2016, Jim left Politico and launched Axios.

Mark Thompson

CEO of The New York Times

BIO: Mr. Mark Thompson has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of The New York Times Company since November 12, 2012. Mr. Thompson served as the Non-Executive Chairman at BBC Worldwide Limited since March 12, 2012 and serves as its Director General since 2004. He served as a Director-General of British Broadcasting Corp. from June 2004 to July 01,2012 and served as its Member of Executive Board. He served as a Director-General at BBC Trust until March 2012. He served as the Chief Executive Officer of Channel 4 of British Broadcasting Corporation from 2002 to 2004. At the BBC, he developed innovative new products and generated new revenue streams on multiple platforms. He has led the BBC's multimedia coverage of the London Olympic Games, coverage which has won near universal acclaim at home and around the world. He is responsible for the BBC's services across television, radio and online including 10 national TV channels and 10 national radio stations, 40 local radio stations and an extensive global Web site. He joined the BBC in 1979 as a production trainee. Mr. Thompson helped launch Watchdog and Breakfast Time, was an output editor on Newsnight and was appointed Editor of the Nine O'Clock News in 1988 and of Panorama in 1990. He went to be Controller (programming and scheduling chief) for the TV network BBC2. His former BBC positions include, Director of Television; Director of National & Regional Broadcasting; Controller BBC Two; Head of Factual and Head of Features. He oversaw the successful launch jointly with ITV of Freesat, as well as the BBC's involvement in YouView, a joint venture with ITV, Channel 4, Arqiva, TalkTalk and Five, offering subscription-free digital TV and the UK's leading video on-demand services. Mr. Thompson served as a Director of Television of British Broadcasting Corp. from April 2000 to December 2001. He served as the Chairman and Executive Director of British Broadcasting Corp. until July 2012. He has been a Director of The New York Times Company since November 2012. He served as a Director of BBC Worldwide Ltd., from March 2012 to September 17, 2012. He served as a Director of Channel Four Television Corp. until June 9, 2004. Mr. Thompson was educated at Merton College at Oxford University.