CNN's Christiane Amanpour Announces Exit From Network After 43 Years
Lester Holt Signs Off From ‘NBC Nightly News’ With Special Message
Christiane Amanpour is signing off.
More than four decades after the Chief International Anchor joined CNN, she confirmed that she will step away from the network in June.
"After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years," Amanpour said in an Oct. 19 statement. She added that she "looks forward to interesting new projects down the line, and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism."
The 68-year-old, who has hosted her eponymous show on CNN International since 2009, thanked everyone she worked with, especially her "beloved show teams and field crews."
"It's the teams and the camaraderie that counted so much as we together battled to seek the facts," she shared, "the evidence and the humanity, so that CNN could always broadcast the truth about the world and to the world, without fear nor favor."
Amanpour also shared a message for her fellow journalists, "Remember: always be truthful, not neutral."
Meanwhile, CNN chief executive Mark Thompson shared insight into the network's future, telling newsroom employees in a letter obtained by NBC News that there are plans to scale back the show to once a week in early 2027.
"The program will conclude in May, and she will leave CNN at the end of June," he wrote. "Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months."
Mike Marsland/WireImage
"Like so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I'm very sorry to see her go," he added, "but I've come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally."
Her PBS series Amanpour & Company, which she's hosted since 2017, will also conclude in December.
Since joining CNN—whose parent company Warner Bros. Discovery was formally taken over by David Ellison's media corporation Paramount Skydance earlier this month—in 1983, Amanpour has covered major world events, starting with the First Gulf War. She also went on to report on wars in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran and more.
"In the meantime, on behalf of the entire CNN leadership team,” Thompson concluded, “I want to thank Christiane for 43 extraordinary years of remarkable journalism, loyalty and friendship."
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