UPDATED with tweet and video: Long time CNN Newsroom anchor Brooke Baldwin announced her surprise resignation from the cable news network on the air today, telling viewers that she will leave in April to focus on “extending the lives of extraordinary Americans and putting my passion for storytelling to good use.”
“Before we start, I want to start with some personal news,” said Baldwin at the beginning of his show at 3 pm Eastern time. “I’m leaving CNN in April.”
She continued, “Let me go back. After most of my 20 years working in the local news, I came to this network in 2008 – in the midst of the Great Recession as a freelancer. I remember I scribbled my name on a post-it note and put it outside this temporary office, determined to fulfill my dream of becoming a full-time CNN correspondent. “
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The Peabody Award winner joined CNN in 2008 and also the creator and host of the CNN digital series American woman, which focuses on the stories of pioneer women who broke barriers in their respective fields and are now helping other women to do the same.
Watch her ad here and read her full statement below.
1. I want to start with some personal news❤️ 📺 I’m leaving @CNN in April. I joined this network as a freelancer in 2008. I scribbled my name on a post and pasted it outside a temporary office determined to fulfill my dream of becoming a full-time correspondent on CNN. pic.twitter.com/v4zeG5XMQX
– Brooke Baldwin (@BrookeBaldwin) February 16, 2021
Thanking CNN President Jeff Zucker and the “big CNN family,” Baldwin said, “I don’t have a job I’m immediately joining, but yes, I’m feeling very vulnerable.”
She continued: “For a decade, I never took for granted the enormous responsibility and privilege I had to work with some of the most talented producers and photojournalists and correspondents and anchors out there, as we cover the most urgent and important stories, conflicts, terrorism , environmental and natural disasters, the ire of armed violence, royal marriages, my American woman series, the social justice movement that defines our culture and a pandemic that changed the world.
“I wanted to be part of the best of the best in cable news and journalism and, as a native of Atlantis, this would be the dream of my hometown. Little did I know, I would not just fulfill that dream, I would flourish in this environment and get my own two-hour show in the afternoon at the age of 31 ”.
Baldwin said that in the past two years she has written her first book entitled Huddle: how women release their collective power. HarperCollins will publish it in April.
“You know, there is just more I need to do,” she said, “more than I need to do outside this place, outside the walls of this place, a place that I have been privileged to call home for 13 years. “
Baldwin joined CNN after serving as a principal reporter for the 10 pm WTTG Washington, DC newscast. Prior to that, she worked at WOWK Charleston / Huntington, WV, and began her journalistic career at WVIR Charlottesville, VA.
Here is the full text of Baldwin’s announcement on the air today:
“Before we go any further, I want to start with some personal news.” With a deep sigh, she said, “I’m leaving CNN in April. Let me go back. After almost all of my 20 years working on local news, I came to this network in 2008 – in the midst of the Great Recession as a freelancer. I remember I scribbled my name on a post-it note and put it outside 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 of Atlantis, that would be my hometown’s dream. Little did I know, I would not just fulfill that dream, I would flourish in this environment and get my own two-hour show in the afternoon at the age of 31.
“For a decade, I never took for granted the enormous responsibility and privilege I had to work with some of the most talented producers, photojournalists, correspondents and anchors out there, while covering the most urgent and important stories and conflicts of our era, terrorism, disasters environmental and natural, the ire of armed violence, royal marriages, my American woman series, the social justice movements that define our culture and a pandemic that changed the world and politics – a lot of politics.
“You have been with me every step of the way – never more than when I was incredibly sick with Covid last year. I am very grateful for your loyalty and passion for the world we cover. I am very grateful to my program team – you know who you are. You know who you are. To Jeff Zucker, my large CNN family and you. For you.
“The next chapter of my life will focus on what I love most about my job: expanding the lives of extraordinary Americans and putting my passion for storytelling to good use. For the past two years, I have been working on my first book; is called Huddle: how women release their collective power, and, you know, there is just more I need to do – more I need to do outside this place, outside the walls of this place, a place that I have been privileged to call home now for 13 years.
“And yes, we are still in a pandemic and no, I do not have a job that I am joining immediately, and yes – yes, I am feeling very vulnerable. But what does Brene Brown say? ‘Vulnerability is the cradle of innovation, creativity and change’, and I am very excited about what is to come. So, here it goes: I really hope you will join me and in the meantime, I will be here with you, with her until mid-April. Now for the news. “
Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.