Poppy Harlow Quits CNN After Recent Shakeups: What to Know

After nearly two decades, Poppy Harlow is parting ways with CNN. Harlow, who joined CNN in 2008 and most recently co-hosted the ill-fated CNN This Morning, announced her departure from the cable news giant in a memo to colleagues on Friday, April 26, calling her time at CNN a “gift.”

“The nearly two decades since have been a gift. I have been inspired by you and learned so much from you – who are (and will remain) dear friends,” Harlow wrote in the email, per CNN. “I grew up here: as a journalist and as a person. I was allowed to stumble, to falter, and then to try again with the support and care of this CNN family. This place has shaped me as a leader, taught me resilience, shown me the value of perspective and how to make hard decisions.”

Further addressing her exit in an Instagram post that same day, Harlow, who made her way to CNN after serving as anchor for Forbes Video Network and an anchor and reporter for NY1 News, said she “Loved every moment” of her time with cable news giant. During her time at CNN, she worked in a variety of roles at the network, reporting on breaking stories like the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and 2015 Paris terror attacks.

“CNN gave me the opportunity to travel across this country and around the world – often at the worst of times, but when humanity also shows the best of itself,” Harlow said of her time at CNN, per The Hollywood Reporter. “There’s been plenty written about what’s wrong with journalism, and the challenges our industry faces. And it does. But there is also so much right with it. At the heart of everything we do is the pursuit of truth – it is the core of CNN. I remain CNN’s biggest fan and I’ll be watching and cheering you on every day.”

In his own statement, Mark Thompson, CNN’s chief executive, praised her as a “unique talent who combines formidable reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences have always responded to. She’s been a wonderful colleague at CNN, and we know she will have much success in her future endeavors.”

Harlow’s departure from the network comes just weeks after her and Phil Mattingly’s CNN This Morning was canceled in February amid a larger revamp of CNN’s morning schedule. The program was launched in November 2022 by former network chief Chris Licht, with Harlow anchoring alongside Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins. Lemon was later ousted from the network in April 2023, with Collins then leaving for her primetime show the following June. Mattingly was brought on to co-host alongside Harlow, but the show eventually got cut. Both Harlow and Mattingly ere offered other roles – Mattingly has since been named a national correspondent – but Harlow decided to leave, the network confirmed.

As she steps away from CNN after 16 years with the network, Harlow said she plans to “walk our children to school and pick them up (hopefully they won’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it. I’m excited for what is ahead – and I will be rooting for CNN always.”