Poppy Harlow announced she is leaving CNN after nearly two decades

Poppy Harlow announced she is leaving CNN after nearly two decades

Poppy Harlow, the longtime CNN adviser who co-hosts “CNN This Morning” on Fridays, announced Friday that she is leaving the network.

“The nearly two decades since then have been a gift,” Harlow wrote in an email to a colleague. “I was inspired by you and learned a lot from you – who was (and will remain) a dear friend.”

“I grew up here: as a journalist and as a person,” added Harlow. “I was allowed to stumble, falter, and then 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 difficult decisions.”

Mark Thompson, CNN’s chief executive, praised Harlow as “a unique talent who combines formidable reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences always respond to.”

“He has been a great colleague at CNN, and we know he will have great success in his future endeavors,” Thompson said.

Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content, also praised Harlow in a statement, saying she “leaves CNN after more than 16 unforgettable years, thousands of hours in the main chair and hundreds of reports from the field.”

“Poppy was a brilliant journalist who set the standard for reporting with compassion and humanity, and we will miss her,” Entelis said.

Harlow joined CNN in 2008 and has worked in various roles at the network. In his time, he has reported around the world on some of the biggest and most important news stories, including the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.

Harlow, who has a background in business journalism, hosts the podcast “Boss Files” and also regularly gets famous executives for interviews, including Warren Buffet, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill and Melinda Gates, Susan Wojcicki, Jamie Dimon and others.

In 2022, then-CNN chief Chris Licht tapped Harlow to help relaunch the network’s flagship morning show. Harlow co-hosts with Kaitlan Collins and Don Lemon. The show, however, struggled to capture viewers and behind-the-scenes drama fueled tabloid headlines. Lemon was eventually fired from the network and Collins moved on to lead a solo prime-time show.

Thompson, after taking over from Licht, announced in February that he would reconfigure CNN’s morning lineup. “CNN This Morning” switched time slots and moved to Washington, D.C., where it is now hosted by Kasie Hunt.

The new morning show line-up leaves Harlow without a main slot. CNN was involved in discussions with Harlow, but she ultimately decided to leave the network.

In her email to colleagues, Harlow said that in the near future she hopes to spend more time with her family.

“For now, my plan is to take our kids to school and pick them up (hope they don’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it, Harlow wrote. “I’m excited for what’s to come — and I will always support CNN.”