Christiane Amanpour to Leave CNN in June 2027 After 43 Years
Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international anchor, announced on Monday, October 19, that she will leave CNN in June 2027, ending a partnership of 43 years. "After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!" the 68-year-old said in a statement carried by CNN. She said she looks forward to "interesting new projects down the line" and will always champion the network's tradition of independent journalism. Her sign-off line: "Remember: always be truthful, not neutral."
The departure follows a gradual timetable rather than an abrupt goodbye. Her daily CNN interview program, "Amanpour" on CNN International, will end its daily run at the close of 2026, scale back to once a week from January 2027, and conclude at the end of May, with her exit from the network the following month. Her PBS interview show, "Amanpour & Company," will end at the end of this year. She will continue her podcast, "The Ex Files," made with her former husband Jamie Rubin.
CNN chairman Mark Thompson told staff in a memo on Monday morning that he and Amanpour had been discussing the move for some months. "Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months. 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," he wrote. Thanking her for "43 extraordinary years of remarkable journalism, loyalty and friendship," he described her as one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere. Amanpour in turn thanked the show teams and field crews she worked with across what she called an incredible journey.
Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 as an assistant on the international assignment desk at the network's Atlanta headquarters. She became an international correspondent in 1990, with the Persian Gulf War as her first major assignment, and went on to cover Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine and Iran. Her emotional dispatches from besieged Sarajevo during the Bosnian war made her name — and drew criticism from those who questioned her objectivity, a charge she answered by arguing that neutrality is impossible in the face of atrocities. She served as CNN's chief international correspondent from 1992 to 2010 and has hosted "Amanpour" on CNN International since 2009. Along the way she contributed to "60 Minutes" from 1996 to 2005, anchored ABC News' "This Week" from 2010 to 2011, and returned to CNN in 2012 under a special arrangement. Her work has earned multiple Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards and George Polk Awards.
The announcement lands just weeks after David Ellison's Paramount Skydance formally took over Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company, with Thompson staying on as CNN chief executive. The Guardian reported the exit is not thought to be specifically tied to the new ownership, though it comes amid staff anxiety about the new owners' plans for the network. Born in London to an Iranian father and a British mother, Amanpour moved to the United States in the 1970s and started in local news before joining CNN. Her departure closes a career that stretched from the network's early years into its present corporate era.