CNN's Christiane Amanpour to depart after 43 years

What happened

Christiane Amanpour, CNN's chief international anchor, plans to leave the network next June, according to NBC News. The outlet obtained a letter that CNN chief executive Mark Thompson sent to newsroom employees announcing the move.

"After more than 43 years at CNN, Christiane has decided that the time is right to begin a new chapter," Thompson wrote in the letter. Amanpour is 68. She has been a fixture of the 24-hour news network for more than four decades.

The timeline for her exit

Thompson said Amanpour intends to "scale back" her eponymous CNN International show to once a week early in 2027. "The program will conclude in May," he wrote, "and she will leave CNN at the end of June."

He described the decision as a considered one. "Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months," Thompson said in the letter. He added that, like many CNN staffers who would hear the news that day, he was "very sorry to see her go." He also said he had come to accept that this is "the right time for her, both personally and professionally."

In a statement, Amanpour confirmed that she is leaving both CNN and PBS, where she hosts "Amanpour & Company."

A career spent covering global crises

NBC News noted that Amanpour has reported on nearly every major international conflict and global crisis of the past four decades. Those include the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Bosnian War and the Persian Gulf War. They also include the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11, the Arab Spring, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Israel's war in Gaza.

She has also interviewed prominent world leaders. According to NBC News, they include former President Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. She also interviewed several Iranian presidents, among them Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani.

In her statement, Amanpour thanked "the amazingly talented people I've worked with throughout this incredible journey," and singled out her "beloved show teams and field crews." She said in part: "We together 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 favor."

A new chapter for CNN's ownership

Amanpour's departure comes just weeks after David Ellison's media company, Paramount Skydance, formally took over Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, NBC News reported.

Thompson will remain the head of CNN under the new ownership. He will report directly to Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, the co-CEOs of Skydance, according to the report.

The source material does not say whether the ownership change influenced Amanpour's decision. Thompson's letter said the two had been discussing her plans for some months.