After 43 years, star reporter Christiane Amanpour leaves CNN

Christiane Amanpour is one of the most high-profile journalists in the USA and has received numerous awards – now the former war correspondent leaves her house station CNN after about 43 years. The 68-year-old said on Monday that she had decided after “some sleepless nights” to separate from CNN. Their last show is scheduled to air next June. She wanted to remain “uncompromisingly independent”, added Amanpour. This is especially important today, as journalists are under unprecedented pressure – “politically, financially and also due to the growing dangers in use”. The background is apparently the takeover of CNN mother Warner Bros. by the media group Paramount Skydance, whose chairman David Ellison is close to US President Donald Trump. Since then, there have been fears that the Trump-critical news channel could be smashed or brought into line. The British-Iranian journalist became internationally known for her coverage of the 1991 Gulf War. Previously, she had reported from 1989 in Germany on the fall of the Berlin Wall. In recent decades, Amanpour has interviewed numerous senior politicians from around the world and reported on trouble spots such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda and the Balkans. She has received numerous awards for her work in the USA, including several Emmy Awards. In Britain she received the highest order of merit Order of the British Empire. Amanpour said her daily news broadcast on CNN will be reduced to once a week by next June. She looks forward to “interesting new projects in the future” and will “always keep her fingers crossed”. She told her colleagues: “Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.” CNN CEO Mark Thompson praised Amanpour for 43 extraordinary years of remarkable journalistic work, loyalty and friendship. He is very sorry to see you go. But it is “the right time for them both personally and professionally,” he added.