EXCLUSIVE: Amara Walker, co-anchor of CNN This Morning Weekend, is departing the network after more than a decade.
In a statement, Walker said, “I’ve decided to seize on this moment of change in our industry and take a hiatus from TV news. 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 also anchors CNN Newsroom on CNN Max and CNN International, airing Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesdays at 8 a.m. ET.
“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.”
Watch on Deadline
“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.”
Last year, Walker won an Emmy for her breaking news coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, among a number of international crises she has covered.
She joined CNN in 2013 as an anchor for CNN International. As correspondent, she has reported in the Atlanta spa massacre in 2021 and on Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud in Georgia in 2020, including his pressuring phone call to the Georgia secretary of state.
She also has anchored CNN’s coverage of major breaking news events, including coverage of the crisis in Venezuela and demonstrations in Hong Kong, as well as the fire that devastated Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral.
A CNN spokesperson said, “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. We know she will continue to find success in her new pursuits.”
No successor has been announced on CNN’s weekend morning show, in which she has been teamed with Victor Blackwell.