For greater than 20 years, Stephanie Elam was a well-known face at CNN. The Howard College alum had coated every part from the deaths of Michael Jackson and Prince to the unstable swings of the inventory market and final yr’s devastating Eaton fireplace that displaced many Californians, significantly within the primarily Black metropolis of Altadena.
That familiarity is ready to finish as Elam introduced her departure from the community Saturday (Apr. 18).
“For greater than 20 years I’ve been within the CNN orbit creating and delivering information tales on every part from the atmosphere and leisure to enterprise and breaking information of every kind,” she mentioned in an announcement shared by Selection. “I’m so happy with my CNN profession. Dwell or taped, writing packages or doing a show-and-tell, I’ve performed all of it — and having a entrance row seat to doc historical past has been a present.”
Elam’s exit, albeit on her personal phrases, is the newest in a sequence of Black faces who as soon as referred to as community TV residence however have since left, whether or not by their very own volition or by means of layoff. In March, Shawna Thomas, a famous producer for “CBS Mornings,” introduced she was making ready to depart the community by summarily telling colleagues she was “drained.”
“This isn’t THE GREAT GOODBYE NOTE,” Thomas wrote on the time. “However you need to know I’ve been eager about this for some time and, frankly, I’m drained y’all.”
She continued, “Right now isn’t my final day at CBS Mornings, nevertheless it begins a countdown to my alarm going off just a little bit later […] For 5 years, I’ve tried to make this present one thing she and everyone on this workforce wish to be part of. Need to watch. Need to be taught from. And in return, this workforce has made me extra considerate, empathetic, and expanded my private definition of storytelling. I’ve had the privilege of serving to to make 10 (now 12!) hours of tv every week that goes out free to folks in every single place. I’ve taken that duty of making an attempt to tell, educate, entertain, and make folks care concerning the world round them very severely, and I do know the folks right here do, too.”
One among Elam’s most poignant on-air moments got here in 2025 when she eulogized her expensive buddy, former MTV VJ Ananda Lewis. Lewis, who died from breast most cancers on the age of 52, took half in a sit-down dialog with Elam and CNN anchor Sara Sidner, who was additionally battling most cancers. The second allowed viewers to see Elam past her time as a journalist, however as a buddy who deeply believed in sisterhood, particularly with two of the ladies she was closest to.
“Stephanie introduced readability, credibility, and coronary heart to each story she touched over her 20 years at CNN. Her versatility and pure means to attach with audiences made her a trusted voice and a valued colleague,” CNN mentioned in an announcement. “We’re grateful for her many contributions and need her continued success in her subsequent chapter.”
Whereas Elam didn’t expose what her subsequent chapter could be, her absence from tv is felt. Simply because it was when mass layoffs occurred at networks like NBC and CBS. Final yr, Maurice DuBois left “CBS Night Information,” and Michelle Miller, who was a co-host on “CBS Saturday Morning,” additionally departed the community amid restructuring from CBS’s father or mother firm, Paramount.
