Christiane Amanpour, a veteran CNN International anchor, announced on October 19 that she would be leaving the network next summer after more than 40 years. CNN CEO Mark Thompson put out a memo for staff members at the company saying, “After more than 43 years at CNN, Christiane has decided that the time is right to begin a new chapter.”
“Early in 2027, she will scale back her CNN International show, ‘Amanpour,’ to once a week. The program will conclude in May, and she will leave CNN at the end of June,” Thompson said. “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.”
Later, Amanpour gave a big thank you to all her viewers and made allusions to the “pressures” she and other hosts and anchors on CNN often face during an on-air address. “Now, you know I’ve always been fiercely independent, and I will continue to be that for you for as long as I am here and beyond,” Amanpour went on to say.
“That’s especially important today as we face unprecedented pressures from all sides, political, financial and also from the rising dangers in the field. I’ll always be rooting for CNN maintaining its history of independent journalism,” the longtime anchor continued. “Remember: always be truthful, not neutral,” Amanpour said in a written statement, according to a report from Fox News.
For staff members, the announcement of Amanpour’s stepping down from her position was a shock. One individual referred to her as CNN’s “reigning titan.” Another went on to describe themselves as a “Christiane loyalist” and then called her “the heart and soul of this company,” but then said that her stature in the world of journalism can continue without being part of CNN.
“She has the power to chart her own course. Yes, she is synonymous with a brand, but she is also bigger than the brand,” the CNN staffer said in a statement to Fox News Digital. While Amanpour, 68, is highly revered among her colleagues at CNN and with other members of the liberal media, she isn’t without her fair share of critics.
As she made clear in her written statement, Amanpour isn’t an objective journalist who seeks to only present the facts. She flatly denied neutrality in reporting. “Both-siderism — on the one hand, on the other hand — is not always objectivity. It does not get you to the truth,” the longtime anchor said in an address to graduates at the Columbia Journalism School in 2023.
"*" indicates required fields
“Drawing false, moral or factual equivalence is neither objective or truthful. Objectivity is our golden rule. And it is in weighing all the sides and all the evidence hearing everyone reporting everything, but not rushing to equate them when there is no equating and look at the damage that that has done in the climate debate, in the political arena and in the field of battle,” she explained.
Amanpour’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, along with her past commentary on situations in the Middle East are a prime example of her lack of objectivity. In October 2023, weeks after a horrific terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, the journalist claimed the “rest of the world” was in agreement with Jordanian Queen Rania Al Abdullah’s complaint that the Western world shows more support for Israel than Palestine.
She then expressed support for third-party negotiators who were attempting to implement a “hostage release on both sides,” implying that Israel was keeping civilian hostages and not just members of Hamas. Earlier this year, Amanpour was forced to issue an apology after she made the claim that the murder of an Israeli rabbi’s family was the result of a “shootout.”
Amanpour’s leaving CNN makes her the first major journalist to exit the network under its new corporate ownership. Skydance CEO and Paramount owner David Ellison recently closed a $111 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, which will merge two major Hollywood studios, along with several television networks, which includes CBS and CNN.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video