Christiane Amanpour to leave CNN after 43 years of reporting

CNN's top international anchor, Christiane Amanpour, has announced she will leave the network after 43 years.

She shared this news in a statement on Monday. Her show, Amanpour, will end in May, and she will officially leave CNN by the end of June.

This marks the end of a long career that started in 1983 when she joined as an assistant on the international assignment desk.

Ms Amanpour explained that she made this choice after “many months of thought and a few sleepless nights.”

She said, “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 humanity, so that CNN could always broadcast the truth about the world and to the world, without fear nor favour.”

She also had a message for CNN, saying, “Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.”

Ms Amanpour did not give a specific reason for leaving or mention any changes happening at CNN.

Her decision comes at an interesting time for the network. CNN is now part of a bigger media group called Skydance, led by David Ellison and heavily backed by his father, Larry Ellison, who is a Trump supporter and co-founder of Oracle.

In her statement, Ms Amanpour seemed to address worries about CNN's future. She said she “will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism.”

She has also talked about her ongoing treatment for ovarian cancer, which she was diagnosed with in 2021. She referred to it as “the invisible killer.”

She urged everyone to “get all the scans that you can.”