Poppy Harlow Out at CNN Following CNN This Morning Cancellation

Poppy Harlow

Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for the Healthy Minds Project

Poppy Harlow leaves CNN.

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

“Mark, Amy and the CNN leadership team have been wonderful and given me the space to make this decision. I am very 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.”

“Much has been written about issues in journalism and the challenges our industry faces. And that’s the case. But there’s also so much that goes into it,” Harlow continued. “The pursuit of truth is at the heart of everything we do – it’s the heart of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and will watch and cheer for you every day. »

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

Mattingly then took on a new role as chief national correspondent and fill-in anchor.

Harlow was part of the original CNN this morning team, announced by then-CEO Chris Licht, in 2022. Harlow was partnered with Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins in an effort to revamp the channel’s morning programming.

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

CNN CEO Mark Thompson and Amy Entelis also released their own statements praising Harlow.

“Poppy is a unique talent who combines tremendous reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences have always responded to,” Thompson said. “She has been a wonderful colleague at CNN and we know she will be very successful in her future endeavors.”

“Poppy is leaving CNN after more than 16 memorable years, thousands of hours as an anchor and hundreds of reports in the field,” Entelis added. “She marked many major stories, including the financial crises, the Paris terrorist attacks and the Boston bombing, but above all enlightening interviews with the world’s greatest business leaders, who trusted her because she was tough, fair and well prepared. Poppy is a brilliant journalist who sets the standard for reporting with compassion and humanity, and she will be missed.

Read Harlow’s note:

When I walked through the door at CNN in 2008, I was 25 and had never been on live television.

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

The almost two decades that have passed since then have been a gift. I have been inspired by you and learned a lot 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 thanks to the support and care of this CNN family. This place shaped me as a leader, taught me resilience, showed me the value of perspective and how to make tough decisions.

It is for these reasons that I am taking the plunge and leaving CNN with a full heart and deep gratitude.

Mark, Amy and the CNN leadership team have been wonderful and given 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 when humanity is also at its best.

I was able to discover what makes this country great. I’ve sat with people in their best times and their hardest. They taught me about the human condition and what binds us together. Whether covering the impact of the financial crisis on Wall Street in Detroit, spending time with young women incarcerated in East Tennessee or Rikers Island, or listening to grieving parents who lost their children because of the opioid crisis in Ohio, or the repeated heartbreak of mass shootings, it is the human side of the story that has always moved me, motivated me and made me appreciate this so much. work.

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

They are everything.

They are the heart of CNN.

Much has been written about issues in journalism and the challenges our industry faces. And that’s the case. But there is also so much to do. The pursuit of truth is at the heart of everything we do – it’s the heart of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and will watch and cheer for you every day.

For now, my plan is to walk our kids to and from school (I hope they don’t get tired of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in any way I can , while preserving humanity in it.

I’m excited about what lies ahead – and I will always support CNN.

With gratitude and love.

Poppy

“The future is now. Roll up your sleeves and give free rein to your passion. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.

-Bruce Springsteen