Veteran CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour announced Monday that she will leave the network next summer, ending a 43-year run that made her one of the cable news giant’s longest-serving and most recognizable journalists.
Amanpour, 68, said she will gradually scale back her responsibilities before officially departing CNN at the end of June 2027, describing the decision as one she reached after months of consideration.
“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights,” Amanpour said she had decided to separate from CNN after what she described as 43 “fantastic years.”
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Her daily programming across CNN and PBS will conclude at the end of 2026, while her CNN International program “Amanpour” will shift to a once-weekly schedule early next year before ending altogether in May.
She will continue reporting and traveling on assignment for CNN during the transition period before formally leaving the network in June.
Her PBS program, “Amanpour & Company,” will conclude at the end of December, although Amanpour plans to continue working on “The Ex Files,” the podcast she hosts with her former husband and former State Department official Jamie Rubin.
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CNN CEO Mark Thompson informed employees about the departure in an internal memo Monday, saying Amanpour had been discussing the decision with him for several months.
Thompson said he was sorry to see the longtime anchor leave but had come to accept that the timing was appropriate for her “both personally and professionally.”
CNN employees reportedly reacted with surprise to the announcement, with one staffer describing Amanpour as the network’s “reigning titan” and another calling her the “heart and soul” of CNN.
Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 as an entry-level assistant on the foreign desk before becoming an international correspondent whose reporting from major conflicts helped establish the young cable network’s reputation for global news coverage.
An update from me… https://t.co/AKLOEekEO2
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) October 19, 2026
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Her first major assignment came during the Gulf War, and she subsequently reported extensively from Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Iran during her more than four-decade career.
She served as CNN’s chief international correspondent from 1992 until 2010 and eventually became the network’s chief international anchor, while her signature interview program has aired on CNN International since 2009.
Amanpour briefly left CNN in 2010 to join ABC News and host the Sunday political program “This Week,” but she returned to CNN in 2012 following a relatively short tenure at the rival network.
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Her departure comes during a major corporate transition for CNN after Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this month, bringing CNN and CBS News under the same corporate ownership.
Amanpour had previously expressed concern about Skydance’s approach to CBS News and the possibility of similar changes at CNN, although she did not cite the ownership transition as the reason for her departure.
In May, Amanpour publicly said she was “concerned” about developments at CBS News under Skydance leadership, remarks that drew additional attention as the company moved closer to taking control of CNN.
Her announcement Monday also contained a pointed defense of journalistic independence, with Amanpour saying she would continue to support CNN maintaining its tradition of independent reporting, though Republicans would argue the network years ago began skewing its coverage to the left in favor of Democrats.
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Amanpour told viewers that journalists are facing significant political, financial and physical pressures and said she intended to remain “fiercely independent” both during her remaining months at CNN and after her departure – code for “left-wing,” critics argue.
She closed her written statement with a phrase that has long reflected her approach to journalism: “always be truthful, not neutral.”
Amanpour has also generated controversy during her career, including criticism from Israeli officials and the Anti-Defamation League in 2020 after she invoked Kristallnacht while discussing the Trump administration, remarks she later walked back.
More recently, she faced criticism over portions of her coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, including an inaccurate description involving the killing of an Israeli family for which she apologized.
She said Monday that she expects to pursue additional projects after leaving CNN.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
