Christiane Amanpour announced Monday that she will leave CNN in June after more than 43 years at the news network.

“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” the network’s award-winning chief international anchor said in a statement. She did not say why she was stepping down.

Amanpour hosts the network’s flagship global affairs interview program, “Amanpour.” She has interviewed numerous world leaders, including former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. She was set to interview former Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in New York in 2022 before he abruptly canceled after Amanpour refused to wear a head scarf, in support of women’s rights.

Beginning in January, Amanpour will reduce hosting her show to once a week. Its final episode will air in May. Amanpour’s decision comes amid major shake-ups at the network’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, which was recently acquired by Skydance, the company run by billionaire David Ellison. Skydance is financially backed by Ellison’s father, Larry, the co-founder of Oracle and a major Trump donor.

“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,” Amanpour told CNN. “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.”

CNN Chair Mark Thompson called Amanpour “one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere.”

“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,” Thompson wrote in a memo to the staff Monday morning, according to CNN. “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.”

The post Christiane Amanpour announces she is leaving CNN appeared first on MS NOW.

Author: Source Author

From MS Now.