I haven't studied it enough to know who's lying but given CNN and co's track record it will most likely be them. I wouldn't just blindly follow the media on any subject.
Don't think CNN lied. However there were other news outlets which posted much more sparse photos than the one Odeon posted, and they also latched onto CNN's number of 250,000. Though the 250,000 number from CNN reports was for the ticketed area and that number is consistent for tickets given out for inaugurations. Ticket holders are for the bleachers and lawn area and every president fills that area.