An era in global television journalism is drawing to a close. Christiane Amanpour, the face of CNN International for four decades, has confirmed she will leave the network in June 2027 after 43 years on air. CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour announces exit after 43 years. The 68-year-old made the announcement in a personal statement shared by CNN Chairman Mark Thompson in a memo to staff on Monday. “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. She added that she looks forward to new projects and will always root for CNN, signing off with a line that defined her career: How Amanpour’s final months at CNN will unfold Her exit will not be abrupt. Amanpour will continue reporting and travelling the world for CNN through June 2027. The transition has already been quietly under way since January 2025, when she scaled back to hosting her programme just a few days a week. From January 2027, her eponymous nightly interview show, Amanpour on CNN International, will air only once a week until the curtain finally falls in May 2027. The show has been a nightly fixture since 2009, becoming the network’s go-to platform for conversations with heads of state, prime ministers, and global power brokers. Thompson paid tribute to her in warm terms, describing her as “one of the most trusted and beloved journalists anywhere.” He wrote that he had been in discussions with her about the decision for 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 said. CNN’s leadership intends to spend the next eight months celebrating her contribution before she departs.
Amanpour also expressed gratitude to “all the amazingly talented people I’ve worked with throughout this incredible journey. Especially my beloved show teams and field crews.” 43 years from Atlanta desk to the world’s front lines Amanpour first walked through CNN’s doors in 1983 as a desk assistant on the international desk in Atlanta. From those modest beginnings, she grew into the network’s most recognisable foreign correspondent, reporting from some of the most dangerous places on earth, including the Gulf War, Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Gaza. Over the course of four decades, she interviewed virtually every significant world leader and earned nearly every major journalism honour, including multiple Emmy Awards, Peabody Awards, and a Television Academy Honor. Her departure comes during a broader restructuring of CNN under Thompson’s leadership, but her legacy as a standard-bearer for fearless, independent journalism is already firmly cemented. Did IShowSpeed team up with the Obamas? We also highlighted facts about IShowSpeed joining The Eyes of Ghana, a documentary backed by Barack and Michelle Obama that follows efforts to preserve rare footage from Ghana’s independence era. At 93, cinematographer Chris Hesse is working to safeguard more than 1,000 films, much of which remained unseen for decades after Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown in 1966. The collection offers a rare visual record of Ghana’s independence and African liberation movements.
