Brooke Baldwin announces mid-April – departure from CNN

UPDATED with tweet and video: Long time CNN Newsroom anchor Brooke Baldwin today announced her surprise resignation from the cable news network on air and told viewers that she will be leaving in April to focus on “strengthening the lives of extraordinary Americans and making good use of my passion for storytelling.”

“Before we get started, I want to start with personal news,” Baldwin said at the start of her 15:00 ET show. “I’m leaving CNN in April.”

She continues: ‘Let me back up. After spending most of my twenties in local news, I joined this network in 2008 – amid the Great Recession as a freelancer. I remember scratching my name on a Post-It note and sticking it out of this temporary office, determined to fulfill my dream of becoming a full-time CNN correspondent. ‘

The Peabody Award winner joined CNN in 2008 and is also the creator and host of CNN’s digital series American woman, which focuses on the stories of pioneering women who broke barriers in their respective fields and are now helping other women to do the same.

Check out her announcement here and read her full statement below.

1. I want to start with personal news some️ 📺 I am leaving @ CNN in April. I came to this network in 2008 as a freelancer. I scribbled my name on a post and stuck it outside a temporary office that was determined to fulfill my dream of becoming a full-time correspondent at CNN. pic.twitter.com/v4zeG5XMQX

Brooke Baldwin @BrookeBaldwin 16 February 2021

Baldwin, CNN president Jeff Zucker and the “very large CNN family,” said Baldwin: “I do not have a job I jump into right away, and yes, I feel very vulnerable.”

She continued: ‘I have never taken for granted the greatest responsibility and privilege I have had to work with some of the most talented producers and photojournalists and correspondents there for a decade, as we have the most urgent and important era of ours. era discussed. stories, conflicts, terrorism, environmental and natural disasters, the wrath of gun violence, royal weddings, me American woman series, the social justice movement that defines our culture and a pandemic that has changed the world.

‘I wanted to be part of the best of the best in cable news and journalism, and as a native Atlantan, that would be my hometown dream. Little did I know, I would not just fetch one to make that dream come true; i will thrive in this area and at the age of 31 in the afternoon land my own two hour long show. ”

Baldwin said she has written her first book in the last two years Huddle: How women unlock their collective power. HarperCollins publishes it in April.

‘You know, there’s just more I have to do,’ she said, ‘more I have to do outside this place, outside the walls of this place, a place I have been privileged to have for 13 years. mention. ”

Baldwin joined CNN after being a chief reporter for the 22:00 news report in WTTG Washington, DC. Previously, she worked at WOWK Charleston / Huntington, WV, and began her newscast career in WVIR Charlottesville, VA.

Here is the full text of Baldwin’s air announcement today:

“Before we get started, I want to start with personal news.” With a deep sigh, she said, ‘I’m leaving CNN in April. Let me back up. After spending most of my twenties in local news, I joined this network in 2008 – amid the Great Recession as a freelancer. I remember scribbling my name on a Post-It note and sticking it out of this temporary office, determined to fulfill my dream of becoming a full-time CNN correspondent.

‘I wanted to be part of the best of the best in cable news and journalism, and as a native Atlantan, that would be my hometown dream. Little did I know, I would not only pick one up to make that dream come true, but I would thrive in this neighborhood and land my own two-hour show this afternoon at the age of 31.

‘I have never for a decade taken for granted the enormous responsibility and privilege of working with the most talented producers and photojournalists and correspondents and anchors there, as we have discussed the most urgent and important stories, conflicts of our era. , terrorism, environmental and natural disasters, the wrath of gun violence, royal weddings, me American woman series, the social justice movements that define our culture and a pandemic that has changed the world and politics – a lot of politics.

‘You were with me every step of the way – never more than when I was incredibly ill with Covid last year. I am so grateful for your loyalty and passion for the world we cover. I’m so grateful for my show team – you know who you are. You know who you are. To Jeff Zucker, to my very large CNN family and to you. To you.

‘The next chapter of my life will focus on what I love most about my job: to strengthen the lives of extraordinary Americans and to make good use of my passion for storytelling. For the past two years I have been working on my first book; it is called Huddle: How women unlock their collective power, and, you know, there’s just more I need to do – more I need to do outside of this place, outside the walls of this place, a place I’ve had the privilege of calling home for 13 years now.

And yes, we’re still in a pandemic, and no, I do not have a job in which I’m jumping right, and yes – yes, I do feel very vulnerable. But what does Brene Brown say? ‘Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change’, and I’m so excited about what’s coming. So, here it goes: I really hope you will join me, and in the meantime I will be here with you, her right until mid-April. Now, to the news. ”

Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.