Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international anchor, is leaving the network after 43 years. The 68-year-old journalist announced Monday that she will wind down her shows over the next several months and exit CNN in June 2027, the Associated Press reported.
Her daily program on CNN International will shrink to one episode a week at the start of 2027 and end in May. Her PBS show, “Amanpour & Co,” ends at the close of this year.
A career that began at the news desk
Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 as an assistant on the news desk in Atlanta, three years after the network went on the air. She became a reporter and, seven years later, an international correspondent. Many viewers first knew her from her coverage of the 1991 Gulf War, and she went on to report from war zones for decades before taking over the network’s marquee international interview show.
In her statement, she said she took months to decide and had a few sleepless nights. She called CNN her partner of 43 years, said she would keep rooting for it, and told colleagues to “always be truthful, not neutral.” She plans to take on new projects and will keep making her podcast, “The Ex-Files,” with her former husband, Jamie Rubin, according to TheWrap.
CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson confirmed the exit in a memo to staff. He said he and Amanpour had discussed her decision over several months, and he praised her as one of the most trusted journalists anywhere.
The ownership backdrop
The announcement comes days after Skydance-owned Paramount closed an $81 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. The deal puts CNN and CBS News under the same roof. Amanpour did not give a reason for leaving and did not mention changes at the network, the AP noted.
The takeover has raised questions about CNN’s independence. AFP reported that the Ellison family, which owns Skydance, is close to President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of the network. Neither Amanpour nor CNN has linked her decision to the new ownership.
What happens next
Amanpour has not said where she will go after June 2027. CNN says it will celebrate her work before she leaves, and it has not announced who will take over her time slot.
