Good evening, and welcome to this week’s ‘Ragebait.’
Justin Baragona here. In tonight’s edition, we take a look at what CNN legend Christiane Amanpour’s departure means for the David Ellison-owned network, and whether others could soon follow in her footsteps. Also, I’ve got news on whether CBS News will punish Bari Weiss-favorite Jan Crawford for violating its standards and practices. Plus, what did – or didn’t – the top editorial boards and Sunday news shows say about the Ilhan Omar raid?
Christiane Amanpour, David Ellison, and the CNN ‘Brain Drain’
Announcing her pending exit from the network she’s called home for the past 43 years, CNN legend Christiane Amanpour made no mention of David Ellison and his recent takeover of the cable news giant.
“From my very first big exciting assignment covering the First Gulf War, to the horrors of the Bosnian War, Rwanda, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Iran and all the points in between, it’s the teams and the camaraderie that counted so much, as we together battled to seek the facts, the evidence and the humanity, so that CNN could always broadcast the truth about the world and to the world, without fear nor favor,” Amanpour said in a statement this week.
“I will be continuing my successful podcast the ‘Ex-Files with Global’ and look forward to interesting new projects down the line, and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism,” she concluded. “Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.”
While Amanpour didn’t bring up the pro-Israel nepo media tycoon or the massive Skydance merger in her note on her departure, which takes full effect in June, she didn’t need to. Others at the network, caught off guard by the sudden news that one of CNN’s vanguards was hanging it up, were more than willing to fill in the blanks.