A veteran face of CNN International is heading for the exit, and she says a new opportunity is the reason. The announcement lands just days after another prominent colleague revealed her own plans to depart, and it comes as the network adjusts to new ownership.
Bianna Golodryga announces CNN exit, teases exciting news
Bianna Golodryga, an anchor and senior global affairs analyst, revealed her exit on Thursday in a post on X. A CNN representative claimed she will make her final appearance on the network Friday. “After nine wonderful years at CNN, I’ve decided to leave for an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” Golodryga wrote. “I’m grateful for the experiences, friendships and support from fabulous colleagues during my CNN years. Exciting news to share very soon!”
She has co-anchored the CNN International program One World with Zain Asher. She did not say where she is headed next. Her announcement follows Christiane Amanpour’s decision, shared three days earlier, to leave CNN next June. Amanpour is winding down her daily CNN International series. The exits came after Skydance acquired Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, in a $111-billion merger. CNN News now shares an owner with CBS News. Mark Thompson will stay on as chairman and editor-in-chief. Skydance CEO David Ellison has pledged editorial independence for the network.
For now, CNN and CBS News operate separately under their current leaders. Consolidation is expected eventually, however, and international bureaus are seen as an early target. Staffers also worry about how much involvement CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss will have in a combined operation.
Golodryga started at CNN as a contributor in 2017 and went full time in 2019. Before that, she co-hosted a CBS morning show, anchored for Yahoo! Finance, and worked at ABC News as a correspondent and weekend co-anchor of a morning program. She immigrated to the U.S. as a refugee from the Soviet Union in 1980. She also co-wrote a young adult novel on antisemitism.
