Minneapolis native Poppy Harlow parts ways with CNN

Minneapolis native Poppy Harlow has announced that she’s leaving CNN, her home since 2008.

Harlow had most recently hosted “CNN This Morning,” a show that was canceled in February after the departure of Don Lemon and the arrival of new management at the network. The original “This Morning” team also included Kaitlan Collins, who now hosts the 9 p.m. program “The Source With Kaitlan Collins.”

“When I walked in the door at CNN in 2008, I was 25 years old and had never been on live TV,” Harlow said in a note she sent out Friday to colleagues. “Green is an understatement! I passed those three iconic red letters in the hall on day one and thought how lucky I was to be here.”

“The nearly two decades since have been a gift,” she added. “I have been inspired by you and learned so much from you — who are (and will remain) dear friends. I grew up here: as a journalist and as a person. I was allowed to stumble, to falter, and then to try again with the support and care of this CNN family. This place has shaped me as a leader, taught me resilience, shown me the value of perspective and how to make hard decisions. It is for those reasons that I take this leap and leave CNN with a full heart and deep gratitude.”

Mark Thompson, who became the network’s chief executive in October 2023, praised the journalist.

“Poppy is a unique talent who combines formidable reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences have always responded to,” he said in a written statement. “She’s been a wonderful colleague at CNN, and we know she will have much success in her future endeavors.”

Others wishing her well included “Today” co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.

“The classiest, smartest, kindest dream of a human being,” she posted on Instagram. “Congrats Poppy!”

In an interview with the Star Tribune in 2022, Harlow said: “When I think about Minnesota, I think about Boyd Huppert. The way he tells stories is so unique to him and where he lives. I look up to him so, so, so, much.”

Harlow, who recently spent a year taking classes at Yale Law School, has two young children. She frequently returns to the Twin Cities to visit friends and family.

“For now, my plan is to walk our children to school and pick them up (hopefully they won’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it,” she shared in her farewell note.