CNN Digital Editorial Chief Meredith Artley Is Leaving for ‘My Next Adventure With My Family’

Todd Spangler
·2 min read
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CNN Digital editor in chief Meredith Artley is exiting the news organization after more than 12 years, coming a little over a month after the close of the deal creating Warner Bros. Discovery.

Artley, who joined CNN in October 2009, announced her departure in a memo to staff Friday. “It’s been a rewarding and long run,” she wrote in the note, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. “And, it’s time for my next adventure with my family.”

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Reached for comment, Artley said her exit from CNN was “absolutely my decision.”

CNN has not named a replacement for Artley yet; she told staffers she will “be around for another week or two, helping with the transition.” The rest of CNN Digital’s leadership team remains in place, including head of global news Rachel Smolkin and head of global digital programming Marcus Mabry.

Artley’s exit also comes shortly after Warner Bros. Discovery shut down subscription-video service CNN+, just weeks after it launched. At the same time, Artley’s boss — Andrew Morse, EVP and chief digital officer of CNN Worldwide, who had overseen CNN+ — left the company.

Artley, as SVP and editor-in-chief of CNN Digital Worldwide, oversaw the creation, programming and publishing of content across all CNN Digital properties, leading a team of more than 350 reporters, producers and editors.

Before joining CNN and moving to Atlanta, Artley led digital editorial for the Los Angeles Times, Paris-based International Herald Tribune and the New York Times. She’s the former board president of the Online News Association and a graduate of the University of Missouri.

Read Artley’s full memo to the CNN Digital Worldwide staff:

To the best digital news team in the world:

Today is the day I have my own breaking news to share. I’m leaving CNN after more than a dozen years. I’m so honored to have had this time here, and to have worked across the entire organization to build the #1 brand for news on the internet.

I moved across the country to Atlanta in 2009, after a stint at the LATimes, with a husband and 6-month-old. I came for the opportunity to work with talented people committed to truth, to independent global journalism, and to help CNN create and share more vital journalism with more people everywhere.

CNN had always been a brass ring for me. At the LATimes, the IHT, and the NYTimes, the CNN homepage was often spotted on newsroom desks, and our air was on all the monitors. The audience numbers were mind-blowing even back then… we would look at the competitive reports and be stunned at the digital reach CNN had.

Look at everything CNN is doing right, I remember thinking back then.

How exciting it would be to help them go farther.

I’m so proud to have played a role in guiding, growing and championing CNN’s journalism across our digital platforms for all these years. We’ve grown the team of dedicated digital journalists more than threefold. We’ve also grown the number of CNNers who do digital journalism regardless of where they sit on an org chart. We’ve doubled-down on breaking news and distinctive storytelling in many forms and on many platforms. We invested in new beats and approaches to engage audiences. Those audiences have grown massively, as has our lead over worthy competitors. And the business of digital keeps going up, with more upside to come.

There are not many jobs in the world where you can come to work and have the kind of impact we have every day, reaching millions of people with trusted news that’s free and accessible to all.

It’s been a rewarding and long run.

And, it’s time for my next adventure with my family.

I am so proud to handoff to this immensely talented, diverse team.

There is so much CNN is doing so right.

How exciting to think about how much farther you will go.

I’ll be rooting you on, *even if* I notice an uptick in animal stories once I’m on the outside.

I’ll be around for another week or two, helping with the transition.

With thanks and best wishes,

Meredith

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