Longtime journalist Christiane Amanpour to leave CNN after 43 years
by Mary McCue Bell · The Washington TimesChristiane Amanpour said she will leave CNN in June 2027, wrapping up a 43-year career at the network where she previously warned about her misgivings about the new ownership.
The 68-year-old chief international anchor shared her decision with colleagues Monday via an internal announcement, which was followed by a farewell memo from CNN Chair and CEO Mark Thompson.
“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” Ms. Amanpour said in a statement.
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News of her departure comes just weeks after Paramount Skydance formally took over Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN.
Ms. Amanpour, who has been criticized for blurring the line between reporting and advocacy, has aired her misgivings with the takeover. She said at an event in May, “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 [Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has] taken over already, like CBS News.”
In her memo, she also said she “looks forward to interesting new projects down the line, and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism. Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.”
Mr. Thompson said that the anchor has decided that “the time is right to begin a new chapter.”
“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,” he wrote in a memo to colleagues. “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.”
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Ms. Amanpour scaled back to hosting CNN International’s global affairs interview program “Amanpour” a few days a week in January 2025. By next January, the eponymous program will be reduced to once a week until it ends in May.
She will continue reporting and traveling for the network through the end of June.
Mr. Thompson described her as “one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere,” thanking her for her 43 years of “remarkable journalism, loyalty and friendship.”
In her exit announcement, Ms. Amanpour said she wanted to thank “all the amazingly talented people I’ve worked with throughout this incredible journey. Especially my beloved show teams and field crews.”
“From my very first big exciting assignment covering the First Gulf War, to the horrors of the Bosnian War, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran and all the points in between, it’s the teams and the camaraderie that counted so much,” she said, “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.”
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She previously left CNN in 2010 for ABC News before returning two years later.
She will also be parting ways with PBS, where she hosts the talk show “Amanpour & Company,” when it concludes at the end of December.
She said she plans to continue hosting her Global-produced podcast, The Ex Files, with her ex-husband Jamie Rubin.
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