Veteran CNN anchor Poppy Harlow to exit network after morning show disaster

Veteran CNN anchor Poppy Harlow will time off nan struggling cablegram news web aft she was formed speech from its disastrous greeting show that featured Don Lemon.

CNN leader Mark Thompson told staffers of Harlow’s departure during CNN’s 9 a.m. editorial telephone Friday — and Harlow confirmed her exit successful an email to Vanity Fair.

“When I walked successful nan doorway astatine CNN successful 2008, I was 25 years aged and had ne'er been connected unrecorded TV. Green is an understatement!” Harlow wrote.“I grew up here: arsenic a journalist and arsenic a person.”

Poppy Harlow is leaving CNN aft 16 years astatine nan network, according to nan cablegram news network. Getty Images

Harlow thanked Thompson, arsenic good arsenic Amy Entelis — nan executive vice president for talent, CNN originals, and imaginative improvement — penning that nan 2 person “been awesome and person fixed maine nan abstraction to make this decision.”

She will officially exit CNN adjacent week.

Harlow, who has held various reporting and anchor gigs astatine CNN, astir precocious served arsenic a co-host connected “CNN This Morning,” nan troubled greeting show launched successful 2022 nether erstwhile CEO Chris Licht.

She co-hosted nan show pinch Kaitlan Collins and Lemon, who was fired aft a bid of missteps, including blowing up astatine Collins disconnected camera and declaring connected aerial that Nikki Haley, then GOP statesmanlike candidate, was “not successful her prime.”

Collins was moved to primetime, while Phil Mattingly, CNN’s main White House analogous was named arsenic Harlow’s caller cohost connected nan ratings-challenged show.

In January, “CNN This Morning” averaged 322,000 full viewers, while MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” drew 988,000 and Fox’s “Fox and Friends” pulled successful 1.07 million.

Under caller leader Mark Thompson, CNN canceled its greeting show, leaving Harlow without an contiguous gig astatine nan network. LightRocket via Getty Images

Thompson announced a shakeup successful February, which entailed axing nan greeting show and replacing nan hosts pinch anchor Kasie Hunt, who anchors nan early-morning newscast from Washington, DC., from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Weeks later, Mattingly was named main home correspondent, but Harlow’s early was uncertain.

Vanity Fair said Harlow was offered a caller domiciled astatine nan aforesaid clip arsenic Mattingly but yet turned it down.

“Poppy is simply a unsocial talent who combines formidable reporting and interviewing prowess pinch a quality touch that audiences person ever responded to,” Thompson said successful a connection to VF. “She’s been a awesome workfellow astatine CNN, and we cognize she will person overmuch occurrence successful her early endeavors.”

“Poppy leaves CNN aft much than 16 memorable years, thousands of hours successful nan anchor chair, and hundreds of reports from nan field,” Entelis said successful a statement.