Longtime CNN anchor Poppy Harlow is leaving the network after nearly two decades, she announced Friday.
Harlow, who joined CNN in 2008, most recently co-hosted “CNN This Morning.”
“The nearly two decades since have been a gift,” Harlow wrote in an email to colleagues, CNN reports. “I have been inspired by you and learned so much from you – who are (and will remain) dear friends.”
“I grew up here: as a journalist and as a person. I was allowed to stumble, to falter, and then to try again with the support and care of this CNN family. This place has shaped me as a leader, taught me resilience, shown me the value of perspective and how to make hard decisions,” she added.
Harlow’s departure from CNN comes months after “This Morning” was effectively canceled in February when it moved from New York to CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was appointed by then-CEO Chris Licht in 2022 to co-host the revamped version of CNN’s morning show, alongside Don Lemon, who left CNN in April 2023, and Kaitlan Collins.
In Harlow’s 16 years at CNN, she held a number of roles and reported on both national and international news stories, including the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and 2015 Paris terror attacks.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson and Executive Vice President for Talent Amy Entelis each issued statements recognizing Harlow’s departure and contributions to the network.
“Poppy is a unique talent who combines formidable reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences have always responded to,” Thompson said. “She’s been a wonderful colleague at CNN, and we know she will have much success in her future endeavors.”
“Poppy is a brilliant journalist who sets the standard for reporting with compassion and humanity, and we will miss her,” Entelis said.
Harlow also thanked Thompson, Entelis and CNN management in her goodbye letter to colleagues.
“Mark, Amy and the CNN management team have been wonderful and have given me the space to make this decision. I am very grateful to them,” Harlow wrote. “CNN gave me the opportunity to travel across this country and around the world — often at the worst of times, but when humanity also shows the best of itself.
“There’s been plenty written about what’s wrong with journalism, and the challenges our industry faces. And it does. But there is also so much right with it. At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth – it is the core of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and I’ll be watching and cheering you on every day,” she added.