Christiane Amanpour Leaving 'This Week' (VIDEO)
Acclaimed news anchor Christiane Amanpour will be leaving her ABC show “This Week,” the network announced on Tuesday.
It appears as though Amanpour will not be leaving ABC entirely, but rather will be focusing her journalistic efforts as a global news anchor for the network while returning to CNN with a weekday program.
Amanpour said in a statement that she is “thrilled and honored” with the unique arrangement that will enable the popular news anchor to continue to appear on two of America’s most prominent news networks.
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“I am looking forward to getting back into the field to report stories on global issues that matter greatly to the American people,” Amanpour said.
Amanpour, 53, started working with CNN in 1983 and gained international recognition for her work covering the Persian Gulf and Bosnian wars.
After working at CNN for 27 years, Amanpour left the network in 2010 to begin her career with ABC.
During her duration as host of “This Week” Amanpour interviewed Muammar Gaddafi and his sons Saif al-Islam and Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi, and also landed an exclusive interview with former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. However, ratings for the historically domestic-politics centric show slipped under the globally oriented Amanpour.
“Good Morning America” co-host George Stephanopoulos will take over as anchor on “This Week.” Stephanopoulos has previously hosted the show.
Anchor Christiane Amanpour Leaves ABC Show“Christiane Amanpour has been synonymous with international reporting and with CNN for many years,” CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton said in an email to CNN staff.
“We could not be happier that through this unique arrangement with ABC News, her experience and global perspective are returning to a nightly news broadcast for our international audience,” Walton added.
Although Amanpour's coverage of global events has mainly been met with positive acclaim, the British-Iranian news anchor has faced her share of criticism, particularly for her coverage of the Bosnian war in which some labeled the anchor as biased.
“There are some situations one simply cannot be neutral about, because when you are neutral you are an accomplice. Objectivity doesn’t mean treating all sides equally. It means giving each side a hearing,” Amanpour famously said regarding her coverage of the Bosnian war.
