Longtime CNN anchor Amara Walker shared a stark message to her colleagues as she signed off her weekend show for the last time Sunday morning.
Walker, 43, shockingly announced her departure from the network on Thursday, citing a change in the TV news industry for her move.
Her final episode of CNN This Morning Weekend aired just three days later, when Walker thanked her fans and her colleagues for the past 10 years – and reminded them to ‘speak up.’
Walker called her time at CNN an ‘incredible privilege’ and praised her team’s commitment to journalism.
‘The hours may be grueling, but the work is always rewarding because the truth matters,’ said Walker, who hosted CNN Newsroom on CNN Max and CNN International.
At that point, she turned her praise to network leadership, both ‘past and present, who supported me along the way, for opening the door to this daughter of Korean immigrants who was often reminded through life that she was different and that she didn’t belong.
‘She does belong. And so do you,’ Walker said, defiantly.
‘No matter what you see happening around you, don’t let anyone make you believe otherwise.’
As she signed off for the last time Sunday, Walker thanked her fans and her colleagues for the past 10 years – and reminded them to ‘speak up’
Walker praised her team at CNN This Morning Weekend for their hard work
Walker went on to say she is ‘deeply proud to be the only Asian American anchor on a daily news program at CNN for quite some time,’ before she issued her stark message.
‘Your voice matters, so speak up,’ she said, adding that her fans ‘will be hearing from me and seeing me soon.’
The Emmy winner also shared the message to her X account, and wrote: ‘Today marks a new beginning after a 10-year run at CNN. It has been a privilege.
‘Can’t wait to share my next adventure. Stay tuned…,’ she wrote, cryptically.
Walker had previously told Deadline she is a ‘journalist at heart’ but has other ‘professional passions as well’ that she would like to pursue.
‘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 explained. ‘I’m excited about all that is to come and the opportunities that lie ahead.’
‘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.’
Walker and her colleagues won the outstanding breaking news coverage for the reporting on the Israel-Hamas war.
It is unclear what Walker will do next, only telling Deadline that she has other professional passions that she would like to pursue. She is pictured here with her children
She had joined the network in 2013 as an anchor for CNN International and received an Emmy nod for her breaking news coverage of the Manchester Arena bombing attack during an Ariana Grande concert in 2017.
Following her announcement, a CNN spokesperson expressed their support for her future endeavors.
‘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,’ the spokesperson said.
But Walker is just the latest top CNN employee to have said goodbye to the station.
Popular CNN journalist Jim Acosta, known for speaking out against President Donald Trump, previously confirmed he was parting ways with the network in a shocking on-air announcement.
The veteran newsman – who spent 18 years at CNN – was humiliated earlier this month when reports emerged indicating he was going to be axed from his 10 am timeslot.
Chris Wallace, another CNN news anchor, also announced he was quitting the station after four years there.
Wallace was paid a reported $7 million a year from CNN, but after being informed that he could stay on with a much lower salary, he said goodbye, Puck News reported.
Chris Wallace, another CNN news anchor, announced he was quitting the station after four years there
Now, experts say the future at the network looks grim, with Jeff McCall, a communications professor at Indiana’s DePauw University, telling the Los Angeles Times that the network’s layoffs are not a good look for CNN.
‘Right now, you think of their brand as in decline. The layoffs; that’s a problem. And it looks really bad when you lose libel suits,’ McCall said.
The layoffs were initially reported in November and follow about 100 cuts the network made over the summer.
The network’s CEO Mark Thompson, who came aboard in 2023, announced a staff cut of 200 employees on the network’s TV side, while also sharing that CNN would focus more on new products related to digital media consumption.
