CNN analyst Gloria Borger bids farewell to network after 17 years, claims channel is ‘in a very good place’

CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger bid the network’s viewers farewell on Thursday, marking an end to 17 years at the cable news channel and becoming just the latest high-profile CNN personality to depart amid expected budget cuts.

During her final appearance on CNN panel show Inside Politics, the 72-year-old Borger told her colleagues that she’d be “cheering for everyone” and that she believed the network was “in a very good place.”

Prior to the network feting the veteran political journalist on air, CNN chief Mark Thompson told staffers during Wednesday’s morning editorial meeting that Borger would be leaving the network, according to media reporter Oliver Darcy.

As Deadline later reported, Borger joined the network in 2007 and had previously been CNN’s chief political analyst and a prominent figure during its election coverage. A fixture on the panels of CNN’s top news shows AC360 and The Situation Room, Borger scaled back her role in recent years and dropped “chief” from her title.

Before joining CNN, Borger had been a national political correspondent for CBS News and co-anchored CNBC’s Capitol Report.

At the end of Inside Politics on Thursday, anchor Dana Bash aired a highlight reel of Borger’s time on the network, calling her an “icon” and a “reporter’s reporter.” After playing a clip of Borger interviewing the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) about the 2013 government shutdown, Bash turned to her departing colleague and aptly quipped – considering the current news gripping Washington – that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Bash went on to note that Borger “came up in journalism when women in the newsroom were rare” and sometimes fought one another instead of “fighting for each other,” something Bash said “Gloria helped change.” Calling her a “leader in the true sisterhood” of journalism, Bash described Borger as a “mentor” before revealing that she was leaving the network at year’s end.

“I see the women sitting at this table. We have all been true friends supporting each other and that has been distinctive about CNN,” Borger reacted. “As I look back and I think of all the women who have come up through the ranks, including the three here, I‘m so proud of everything that you‘ve all accomplished. And I feel like CNN is in a really good place.”

CNN senior political analyst Nia-Malika Henderson praised Borger for her “presence” and “command of the facts,” adding that she was “going to miss” her. Borger, meanwhile, said she didn’t think of herself as a “pioneer” but rather “someone who has enjoyed my time here with wonderful colleagues.” Even though she was leaving, she insisted she’d “be cheering for everyone” at the network going forward.

“I mean, I remember when Dana and I had offices next to each other; we called it the estrogen corner,” she jokingly added.

“When good things happened to me personally, Gloria was one of the first people to send me a note,” CNN correspondent Phill Mattingly remarked. “And when bad things happened to me personally or professionally, Gloria was one of the first people to send me a note. That, I think, is the true sign of character and a leader inside an organization. And that matters a lot.”

While it had long been expected that Thompson would look to streamline CNN and shift it to a digital-first operation, which would necessarily mean job cuts and leaner payrolls, that plan has started to come into focus following the election.

Amid Thompson’s overhaul of the network, which continues to suffer declining television ratings, star anchors such as Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer have been renewed without receiving raises. Rather than take a significant pay cut, anchor Chris Wallace announced he was leaving CNN at the end of the year and would take up podcasting.

Other longtime on-air personalities have also departed, such as former New Day anchor Alisyn Camerota, who signed off from the network after ten years earlier this month. While Camerota had taken time off in recent months to care for her ailing husband, who passed away this fall from cancer, the network also didn’t appear to have much of a role for her after various program shifts in the past two years.

Meanwhile, Borger wasn’t the only cable news veteran to announce they were moving on to other endeavors on Thursday. Neil Cavuto, who has been with Fox News for 28 years, is leaving the conservative cable giant after declining to sign a contract extension. He will say his final goodbyes to Fox viewers on Thursday afternoon’s broadcast of his news program Your World.