Revolving Door Roundup: Alex Marquardt Departs CNN Following Defamation Suit Settlement
CNN farewells: Alex Marquardt announced on Monday via social media that he would be leaving CNN after eight years working for the network most recently as its chief national security correspondent.
'Tough to say goodbye, but it's been an honor to work among the very best in the business,' Marquardt wrote. 'Profound thank you to my comrades on the National Security team & the phenomenal teammates I've worked with in the US and abroad.'
He did not provide a reason for his exit, but additional reporting from Status' Oliver Darcy revealed the reason was "editorial differences" between Marquardt and the network.
Marquardt was involved in the costly defamation suit CNN settled in January, when a Florida jury found the network liable in a defamation case brought by Navy veteran Zachary Young. CNN stood by its story and Marquardt, despite the settlement. 'We remain proud of our journalists and are 100% committed to strong, fearless, and fair-minded reporting at CNN, though we will, of course, take what useful lessons we can from this case,' the network told TVNewser at the time.
Also departing CNN is Nick Valenica, who announced his departure via Instagram. After starting with the network 19 years ago as a teleprompter operator, he eventually worked his way up to reporting across the U.S. and Latin America. Most recently he served as a correspondent based at the network's headquarters in Atlanta. Valencia did not disclose his post-CNN plans.
TVNewser reached out to CNN regarding both departures, but the network declined to comment.
Meanwhile, in hiring news, CNN announced that Boer Deng is joining the network as a supervising editor for enterprise based out of the network's Washington, D.C., bureau. Deng was most recently with Radio Free Asia, where she launched the investigative unit and oversaw reporting across Asia, Europe, and North America that uncovered financial crimes, espionage operations, and corruption.
Pentagon papers: One America News Network's Pentagon reporter, Gabrielle Cuccia, has been let go from the conservative-leaning network. According to the Associated Press, Cuccia believes she was relieved of her duties over due to opinions expressed in a Substack post about the new press restrictions being enforced at the Pentagon by defense secretary Pete Hegseth. 'When a reporter asks inconvenient questions about government overreach, the response should be accountability-not silence, and certainly not separation,' Cuccia said.
International promotions: CBS News announced that Imtiaz Tyab and Debora Patta have been promoted to senior foreign correspondents. Tyab is based in London and has been with the network since 2019, while Patta is located in Johannesburg, South Africa, and has been part of CBS News since 2013.
Cancer diagnosis: ESPN anchor Jay Harris made an appearance on Thursday's edition of ABC News' Good Morning America speaking to Michael Strahan about his recent prostate cancer diagnosis. 'I'm having surgery on Tuesday,' Harris said. 'I'll be away from SportsCenter for about a month to recover. Then I'm coming back better than ever.'
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