{"id":939140,"date":"2026-10-19T19:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939140\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T19:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:08:09","slug":"christiane-amanpour-to-exit-cnn-amid-staffer-concern-on-new-owner-skydances-plans-for-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/939140\/","title":{"rendered":"Christiane Amanpour to exit CNN amid staffer concern on new owner Skydance’s plans for network"},"content":{"rendered":"

CNN\u2019s Christiane Amanpour<\/a> is leaving the cable network after more than four decades as one of its most recognizable faces, she said Monday.<\/p>\n

The announcement, which sent shockwaves through the chattering classes, came weeks after Paramount Skydance finalized its purchase of CNN\u2019s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, sparking anxiety in the newsroom.<\/a><\/p>\n

Amanpour, known for interviewing heads of state and reporting from conflict zones, made no mention of the drama in a departure note, in which she said she\u2019d stick around until next June.<\/p>\n

Christiane Amanpour said she is leaving CNN after 43 years at the network. WireImage<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!\u201d she said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The 68-year-old journo added that she \u201clooks forward to interesting new projects down the line, and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism. Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media sources speculated that Amanpour was leaving due to philosophical differences with CNN\u2019s new owner, Skydance CEO David Ellison.<\/p>\n

She recently voiced \u201cconcern\u201d over his purchase of WBD,<\/a> pointing to CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss\u2019 efforts to shake up the network since Ellison installed her in the role with a mandate to bring greater balance last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cClearly I\u2019m concerned, and I\u2019m not sure how much I\u2019m allowed to say about the corporate thing that\u2019s underway, but I am obviously as a person, as a journalist with a record concerned,\u201d Amanpour said in May.<\/p>\n

Amanpour\u2019s announcement comes shortly after David Ellison\u2019s Skydance acquired CNN-parent Warner Bros. Discovery. AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m concerned based on what\u2019s happened to the other things that he\u2019s taken over already, like CBS News, right?\u201d Amanpour added. <\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, do I have to list what\u2019s happening there? I mean, hemorrhaging viewers, probably hemorrhaging money, this ideological realignment of CBS and the destruction potentially of \u201860 Minutes.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Insiders pointed to Ellison\u2019s pro-Israel stance as another reason why Amanpour may be leaving, citing criticism of her own alleged anti-Israel bias from media watchdogs and Jewish organizations.<\/p>\n

Amanpour drew heavy backlash over her coverage of the release of surviving Israeli hostages<\/a> when she said on air in October that the victims were \u201cprobably being treated better than the average Gazan, because they are the pawns and the chips that Hamas had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amanpour recently expressed concern over Ellison\u2019s acquisition of CNN, pointing to the management of CBS. Getty Images<\/p>\n

She later apologized for the remark on air, calling it \u201cinsensitive and wrong\u201d in light of reports of Hamas\u2019 starvation, beating and brutal captivity of Israeli hostages.<\/p>\n

Some media sources speculated that basic finances explain Amanpour\u2019s exit, noting Skydance has billions of dollars in debt from the merger. Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kriez are in the process of mapping out cost-cutting efficiencies.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Amanpour\u2019s annual salary is believed to be in the millions.<\/p>\n

CNN boss Mark Thompson told staffers Monday that Amanpour will be leaving next year and that the company will celebrate her before her exit. Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery<\/p>\n

Others pointed to Amanpour\u2019s health as a possible reason for her exit. In January 2025, the journalist scaled back to hosting a few days a week as she revealed that her ovarian cancer had returned a third time.<\/a> Amanpour was initially diagnosed in May 2021.<\/p>\n

CNN chairman Mark Thompson shared Amanpour\u2019s decision in a memo to colleagues Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,\u201d Thompson wrote. \u201cLike so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I\u2019m very sorry to see her go, but I\u2019ve come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thompson described Amanpour as \u201cone of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere\u201d and said the network will take time to celebrate her \u201cbefore she departs next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her tenure, Amanpour became a household name for her reporting as a foreign correspondent covering conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, Ukraine, Iran and Afghanistan. She also hosted a nightly interview show bearing her name on CNN International since 2009.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CNN\u2019s Christiane Amanpour is leaving the cable network after more than four decades as one of its most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[45,49,48,113169,19593,75,5198,7607,321865,18031,348],"class_list":["post-939140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-christiane-amanpour","tag-cnn","tag-entertainment","tag-mark-thompson","tag-media","tag-news-anchors","tag-skydance","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}