Brooke Baldwin to leave CNN

Brooke Baldwin announced she was leaving CNN at the start of her show Tuesday afternoon, stating, “There is more I need to do, more I need to do outside this place.”

Baldwin said she plans to leave in April, the same month that her book “Huddle: How Women Unlock Their Collective Power” will be released.

The 13-year CNN veteran does not have another job lined up and said departing the network without another position has left her “feeling very vulnerable … and I am so excited about what is to come.”

“The next chapter of my life will be focused on what I love the most about my work: amplifying the lives of extraordinary Americans,” she said, adding that she would be “putting my passion for storytelling to good use.” 

Baldwin also briefly summarized her career at CNN before thanking the viewers, her show team, CNN President Jeff Zucker, who recently confirmed he is leaving the network at the end of the year, and her “very large CNN family.”

A CNN spokeswoman said the network could announce a replacement as soon as Wednesday.

Baldwin was in the news last April when she announced she had contracted COVID-19, joining fellow journalism notables like CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos and Fox News host Jedediah Bila on that list.

Baldwin started at CNN in 2008 and has covered numerous high-profile events, including the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, the 2016 presidential election, and Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, according to her official CNN bio. Baldwin has also been a presence on other CNN special broadcasts including its annual New Year’s Eve coverage with Anderson Cooper.

Prior to CNN, Baldwin worked at several local television stations in the Eastern U.S. including WTTG in Washington, D.C., WOWK in Charleston/Huntington, West Virginia and WVIR in Charlottesville, Va.

Updated at 4:53 p.m.