Christiane Amanpour announces she’s leaving CNN after 43 years

Christiane Amanpour, one of CNN’s most decorated and venerated journalists, is leaving the network after 43 years, she said in a statement on Monday.

Amanpour, who began working for the then-fledging network as an assistant on the international assignment desk in 1983 and is now its chief international anchor, will end her show Amanpour in May and leave the network at the end of June. She also hosts a show for PBS, Amanpour and Company, that will conclude at the end of this year.

In the statement, Amanpour said she came to the decision to “separate” from the network “after many months of thought and a few sleepless nights”.

“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, 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,” she wrote.

She ended her statement by encouraging her CNN colleagues: “Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.”

Her decision comes at a notable time for the network, which is now part of a larger media conglomerate called Skydance that is run by David Ellison, with heavy backing from Larry Ellison, his Trump-donor father and Oracle co-founder.

Her exit is not thought to be specifically tied to the network’s new ownership, which is viewed skeptically by some CNN journalists because of its perceived closeness to the Trump administration. But, in her statement, Amanpour seemed to nod to concerns about the network’s future, saying that she “will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism”.

Amanpour, 68, has been open about her ongoing treatment for ovarian cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2021.

In his own memo, CNN’s CEO, Mark Thompson, who announced earlier this month that he will be remaining with the merged company, thanked Amanpour “for 43 extraordinary years of remarkable journalism, loyalty and friendship”.

“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,” Thompson 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 said she will continue hosting her podcast, The Ex Files and that she “[looks] forward to interesting new projects down the line”.