Poppy Harlow is out at CNN after CNN This Morning was canceled

Poppy Harlow

Brian Bader/Getty Images for the Healthy Minds Project

Poppy Harlow leaves CNN.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced his departure during the channel's 9 a.m. editorial call on Friday, with the veteran anchor sending an email to colleagues shortly after.

“Mark, Amy, and the CNN management team were amazing and gave me the space to make this decision. I am so grateful to them,” Harlow wrote. “CNN has given me the opportunity to travel across this country and around the world — often in the worst of times, but when humanity also shows its best.” she has.”

“Much has been written about the flaws of journalism, and the challenges our industry faces. And so it is. But there is also a lot of truth to it,” Harlow continued. “At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth — and that is what CNN is all about.” . I will continue to be a huge fan of CNN and will watch and cheer for you every day.

The broadcaster was most recently the co-host CNN This Morning, the cable news channel's morning show. The show, which Harlow most recently hosted alongside Phil Mattingly, was effectively canceled earlier this year, with production moving to Atlanta.

Mattingly then moved on to a new position as chief local reporter and anchor.

Harlow was part of the original CNN This Morning The team was announced by then-CEO Chris Licht in 2022. Harlow was paired with Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins in an effort to revamp the channel's morning lineup.

Lemon, of course, was let go from the channel a year ago (Licht followed shortly after), while Collins moved to the 9 p.m.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson and Amy Entles also issued statements praising Harlow.

“Poppy is a unique talent who combines phenomenal reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences always respond to,” Thompson said. “She has been a wonderful colleague at CNN, and we know she will achieve great success in her future endeavors,” he added.

“Bobby is leaving CNN after more than 16 unforgettable years, thousands of hours in the anchor chair and hundreds of reports from the field,” Entelis added. “She left a mark on many major stories including the financial crises, the terrorist attacks in Paris and the Boston bombing, but most notably the insightful interviews with the world's top business leaders, who trusted her because she was tough, fair and well prepared. Bobbi is a fantastic journalist who sets the standard for journalism.” With compassion and humanity, we will miss her.”

Read Harlow's note:

When I walked through the door at CNN in 2008, I was 25 years old and had never been able to appear on live air.

Green is an understatement! I passed those three distinctive red letters in the hall on the first day and thought how lucky I was to be here.

The nearly two decades since then have been a gift. I have been inspired and I have 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, stumble, and try again with the support and care of the CNN family. This place has shaped me as a leader, taught me resilience, and shown me the value of perspective and how to make tough decisions.

For these reasons, I have taken this leap and leave CNN with a full heart and profound gratitude.

Mark, Amy, and the CNN management team were amazing and gave me the space to make this decision. I am very grateful to them.

CNN has given me the opportunity to travel across this country and around the world — often in the worst of times, but also when humanity shows its best.

I got to experience what makes this country great. I sat with people in their best moments and in their most difficult moments. They taught me about the human condition and what connects us. Whether that's covering the impact of the financial crisis from Wall Street to Detroit, spending time with young women in prison in East Tennessee or on Rikers Island, hearing from grieving parents who lost children to Ohio's opioid crisis, or the recurring heartbreak of mass shootings. It is the human side of the story that has always moved me, motivated me, and made me appreciate this work so much.

Above all, it is the teams of journalists behind each of these stories – producing at all levels – who make it all possible.

They are everything.

They are the heart of CNN.

Much has been written about the flaws of journalism and the challenges our industry faces. indeed. But there is also a lot of truth in that. At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth, and that's what CNN is all about. I will continue to be a huge fan of CNN and will watch and cheer for you every day.

For now, my plan is to accompany our children to school to pick them up (I hope they don't get bored of me!), and to support the development of journalism in every way I can, while preserving humanity in the world. He. She.

I'm excited for what's to come – and I'll always be rooting for CNN.

With gratitude and love.

Anemone

“The future is now. Roll up your sleeves and let your passion flow. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.”

-Bruce Springsteen