CNN is losing one of its highest-profile anchors and correspondents next year.
Christiane Amanpour will scale back her work at CNN over the next few months, and leave the channel entirely next June. CNN CEO Mark Thompson shared the news in a note to staff Monday morning.
“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,” he wrote. “Like so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I’m very sorry to see her go, but I’ve come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally.”
Amanpour has been with CNN for 43 years, becoming perhaps its most famous foreign correspondent, and a staple of its lineup.
Why Amanpour is leaving is not clear, but the announcement comes just weeks after Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner bros. Discovery, bringing CNN into its fold. Thompson will continue to lead CNN for the time being, though longer-term anything could happen.
“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” she said in a statement. “I will end my daily shows across CNN and PBS at the end of this year, while continuing to maintain a weekly show on CNN through May and working on a smooth transition through June.
Amanpour had publicly expressed concern with the takeover, saying at an event in May that “Clearly I’m concerned, and I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say about a corporate thing that’s under way, but I am obviously, as a person, as a journalist with a record, concerned, and I’m concerned based on what’s happened to the other things that [Ellison has] taken over already, like CBS News.”
For now, she will gradually pull back on her CNN International show this year bfore it ends next May. She will continue to host her podcast The Ex Filed, which she co-hosts with her ex-husband and former U.S. diplomat and Assistant Secretary of State Jamie Rubin. The podcast is not produced by CNN.
“I want to thank all the amazingly talented people I’ve worked with throughout this incredible journey. Especially my beloved show teams and field crews,” she continued. “From my very first big exciting assignment covering the First Gulf War, to the horrors of the Bosnian War, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukrain and Iran and all the points in between, it’s the teams and the camaraderie that counted so much, as we together battled to seek the facts, the evidence and the humanity, so that CNN could always broadcast the truth about the world and to the world, without fear nor favor.”
You can read Thompson’s note to staff below.
Dear all,
I’m writing today with news about a CNN icon – and our dear friend and colleague – Christiane Amanpour.
After more than 43 years at CNN, Christiane has decided that the time is right to begin a new chapter. Early in 2027, she will scale back her CNN International show, Amanpour, to once a week. The program will conclude in May, and she will leave CNN at the end of June.
Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months. Like so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I’m very sorry to see her go, but I’ve come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally.
Christiane has been a household name around the world for decades. Yet she began more than 40 years ago not as one of the biggest stars in CNN’s history, but as a news desk assistant in our Atlanta newsroom. Famously, one of her bosses told her back then that she didn’t have what it took to become a foreign correspondent – or to hold any on-air role at all. Boy, did she prove him wrong!
It would be impossible to list all of her reporting triumphs, exclusive interviews, awards and broadcasting firsts, or the many other accomplishments that have made her one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere. We will make sure to share and celebrate them all before she departs next year.
In the meantime, on behalf of the entire CNN leadership team, I want to thank Christiane for 43 extraordinary years of remarkable journalism, loyalty and friendship.
Mark