Longtime CNN Anchor Leaves Network After 24 Years

Christine Romans has signed off the air for the final time. The CNN Early Start anchor and chief business correspondent announced Friday that she is leaving CNN after 24 years, with the cable news channel also airing a sendoff on CNN This Morning. Friday marked her final day at CNN, Romans confirmed.

“It has been a pleasure waking up early for you for so many years to get your morning started. I love CNN dearly. I have loved my 24 year run here, 24 years right? But I have decided I am ready for a new chapter. I am full of gratitude for my CNN family. It is a family. Everybody here are my friends. And I am excited for the challenges ahead,” Romans told viewers, adding that she will still be watching the show, “but I just won’t have an alarm set for 2:30 in the morning.”

Romans joined CNN Business News from Reuters in 1999 and spent her first few years reporting on the opening bell from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, according to her CNN bio. Known as “CNN’s explainer-in-chief,” Romans won an Emmy for the CNN series Exporting America, which focused on globalization and outsourcing. As a correspondent, she reported on numerous stories, including Hurricane Katrina, the Arab Spring and the rise of ISIS. Prior to her departure, she served as chief business correspondent and also anchored Early Start, weekdays from 5-6 a.m. ET.

“It’s impossible to sum up 24 wonderful and transformative years at CNN, but here it goes: five elections, a dotcom boom and bust, 9/11, a housing bubble and financial crisis, and a global pandemic. Oh… and a wedding, 3 baby boys, 3 books and 10 years of 3am wake-up calls!” Romans told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’ve climbed the mountain and it’s time for me to climb a new one, but I’m forever grateful to have worked alongside some of the most talented journalists in the business.”

According to the outlet, Romans is believed to have only recently made the decision to leave CNN. She is not expected to move to a different network. On X/Twitter, Laura Jarrett, who co-anchored Early Start with Romans before Jarrett moved to NBC News last year, wrote, “Bravo to my friend and former co-anchor Christine Romans on an amazing run at CNN. Learned so much from you and can’t wait to see your next adventure!”