Why is Brooke Baldwin Leaving CNN?

CNN is about to lose one of its most recognizable faces as anchor Brooke Baldwin, who also hosts the network's New Year's Eve coverage, announced she is leaving the network she has worked for since 2008.

During the Tuesday, February 16 edition of CNN Newsroom with Brooke Baldwin the journalist announced she was stepping down in "mid-April" to move on to "the next chapter of my life."

According to her announcement, she is leaving the network after 13 years in order to find new challenges after releasing her first book. She said: "For the last two years, I've been working on my first book; it's called Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power, and, you know, there's just more I need to do—more I need to do outside of this place, outside of the walls of this place, a place I have been privileged to call home now for 13 years."

Baldwin added: "And, yep, we still in a pandemic, and nope, I don't have a job I'm jumping right into, and yes—yes, I'm feeling very vulnerable. But what is it Brene Brown says? 'Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change,' and I am so excited about what is to come."

On Tuesday's edition of CNN Newsroom, the anchor reflected on her run at CNN, during which time she was a Peabody finalist and an Emmy nominee. She said: "After most of my 20s working my way up in 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 stuck it outside of this temporary office, determined to fulfilling my dream of becoming a full-time CNN correspondent."

She also paid tribute to her team: "You have been with me every step of the way—never more so than when I was incredibly sick with Covid last year. I am so grateful for your loyalty and passion for the world we cover. I am so grateful to my show team—you know who you are. You know who you are. To Jeff Zucker, to my very large CNN family and to you. To you."

Among her CNN who wished her well on social media was anchor and national security correspondent Jim Sciutto. He wrote on Twitter: "Wishing you the very, very best, my friend. You've always been a friendly and supportive colleague."

Weekend evening anchor Pamela Brown, meanwhile, replied to Baldwin's tweet announcing her departure by writing: "You're one of a kind @BrookeBaldwin and I can't wait to see where all your incredible talents bring you next! Go get em.'"

On Twitter NBC News media reporter Dylan Byers wrote that following Baldwin's departure, Ana Cabrera will get her own afternoon show, while another afternoon show will be co-hosted by Victor Blackwell and Alisyn Camerota, moving from a morning slot.