Stephanie Elam will leave CNN, where she has worked as a correspondent for more than twenty years over two different stints.
Elam has in recent years worked as a Los Angeles-based correspondent. In remarks released via social media, she did not reveal any next steps she might take. “For more than 20 years I’ve been in the CNN orbit developing and delivering news stories on everything from the environment and entertainment to business and breaking news of all kinds,” she said. “I’m so proud of my CNN career. Live or taped, writing packages or doing a show-and-tell, I’ve done it all — and having a front row seat to document history has been a gift.”
Before working for a few years at KNBC, Elam was a business news correspondent for CNN based in New York, where she also reported for HLN and CNN International. She covered everything from downturns in the market to the death of Michael Jackson during a period that lasted from 2003 to 2011. She rejoined CNN in 2013.
During her second run at CNN, Elam has covered everything from the eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano to the death of legendary musician Prince from Minnesota.
“Stephanie brought clarity, credibility, and heart to every story she touched over her two decades at CNN. Her versatility and natural ability to connect with audiences made her a trusted voice and a valued colleague,” CNN said in a statement. “We are grateful for her many contributions and wish her continued success in her next chapter.”
In an unrelated move, Rahel Solomon, a CNN early-morning anchor, announced in March her plans to leave the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed outlet.
Elam’s journalism career began in New York, where she worked as a copy editor for Dow Jones Newswires before joining Bridge News. While working for Bridge News, she covered corporate earnings for PBS’s “Nightly Business Report” and for WebFN, where she anchored “Market on the Close,” a one-hour program that tracked the stock market in the last hour of trading. She also anchored “First Business,” a weekly syndicated business program, and co-hosted “Black Enterprise Report,” a nationally syndicated show focused on business, career and financial education.
Elam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism from Howard University.
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