CNN anchor Amara Walker announces she's leaving TV news industry in shock resignation
CNN This Morning Weekend co-anchor Amara Walker revealed she is leaving the 'declining' network after more than a decade at the network.
Walker announced her shocking resignation on Thursday, citing a change in the TV news industry for her move.
'I've decided to seize on this moment of change in our industry and take a hiatus from TV news,' Walker told Deadline.
'I'm a journalist at heart, but I have other professional passions as well. The timing couldn't be better to embark on the next chapter.'
Walker co-anchored CNN's This Morning Weekend programming with Victor Blackwell, as well as CNN Newsroom on CNN Max on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 a.m.
'I have other professional goals that I haven't been able to pursue given my full-time commitment to a breaking news TV schedule,' she said. 'I'm excited about all that is to come and the opportunities that lie ahead.'
'In my 10 years with CNN, I've had the privilege of working on nearly all of its platforms, as an anchor for CNN, CNN International, and CNN Max, and also as a correspondent. Winning an Emmy Award recently was the icing on the cake. I felt this is the right time to take this step.'
Walker and her CNN colleagues won the outstanding breaking news coverage for the reporting on the Israel-Hamas war.
A CNN spokesperson confirmed Amara Walker's departure, expressing their support for her future endeavors
Walker announced her shocking resignation Thursday, citing a change in the TV news industry for her move
She joined the network in 2013 as an anchor for CNN International and received an Emmy nod for her breaking news coverage of the Manchester Arena bombing attack during an Ariana Grande concert in 2017.
A CNN spokesperson confirmed her departure, expressing their support for her future endeavors.
'In Amara’s more than 10-year distinguished and award-winning career at CNN, she has helmed numerous breaking news stories from the anchor desk and reported from the field on major events across the U.S. She’s been a wonderful and deeply respected colleague at CNN,' the spokesperson said.
Walker is the latest top CNN employee to have said goodbye to the station - as some big names have been axed.
Popular CNN journalist Jim Acosta, known for speaking out against President Donald Trump, confirmed he was parting ways with the network in a shocking on-air announcement.
The veteran newsman - who spent 18 years at CNN - was humiliated earlier this month when reports emerged indicating he was going to be axed from his 10 am timeslot.
Chris Wallace, another CNN news anchor, announced he was quitting the station after four years there.
Wallace was paid a reported $7 million a year from CNN, but after being informed that he could stay on with a much lower salary, he said goodbye, Puck News reported.
Walker and her CNN colleagues won the outstanding breaking news coverage for reporting on the Israel-Hamas war
CNN This Morning Weekend co-anchor Amara Walker revealed she is leaving the 'declining' network
Chris Wallace, another CNN news anchor, announced he was quitting the station after four years there
The future at the network looks grim as experts say the liberal network is 'in decline' after staffers faced pay cuts and a round of layoffs.
Jeff McCall, a communications professor at Indiana's Depauw University, told the Los Angeles Times that the network's layoffs are not a good look for CNN.
'Right now, you think of their brand as in decline. The layoffs; that’s a problem. And it looks really bad when you lose libel suits,' McCall said.
The layoffs were initially reported in November and follow about 100 cuts the network made over the summer.
The network's CEO Mark Thompson, who came aboard in 2023, announced a staff cut of 200 employees on the network's TV side, while also sharing that CNN would focus more on new products related to digital media consumption.
