Christiane Amanpour plans to leave CNN after 43 years

Christiane Amanpour plans to leave CNN at the end of June 2027, closing a 43-year career at the network that took her from its international news desk to war zones and interviews with world leaders.

CNN’s chief international anchor, 68, will scale back her CNN International interview program to once a week early in 2027 before it ends in May, chief executive Mark Thompson told staff in a memo obtained by NBC News. Amanpour also plans to leave PBS, where she hosts “Amanpour & Company,” NBC News reported.

“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” Amanpour said in a statement. She said she looked forward to “interesting new projects down the line” and would continue to support CNN and its “history of independent journalism.” She added: “Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.”

Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 as an assistant on the international news desk. She became one of its best-known correspondents through her reporting on conflicts and global crises, and has presented her own nightly interview program on CNN International since 2009.

In her statement, Amanpour recalled her first major assignment covering the First Gulf War and later reporting on Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran. NBC News also listed the fall of the Berlin Wall, the post-9/11 U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war in Gaza among the events she has covered.

Her interviews with leaders have included former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Iranian presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani, according to NBC News.

Amanpour thanked the colleagues who worked alongside her, particularly her “beloved show teams and field crews.” She said they had “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 favour.”

Thompson told staff he and Amanpour had discussed her decision for months. “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. He described her as “one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere” and thanked her for “43 extraordinary years of remarkable journalism, loyalty and friendship.”

Her planned departure comes weeks after Paramount Skydance formally took over Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, NBC News reported. Thompson will remain in charge of CNN under its new ownership, reporting directly to Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, according to NBC News.