Judy Woodruff, "Inside Politics" anchor, leaving CNN

NEW YORK (AP) _ Judy Woodruff, the anchor of CNN's ``Inside Politics,'' is leaving the network when her contract expires in June. <br/><br/>Woodruff, 58, said Thursday that she hoped to teach,

Thursday, April 28th 2005, 12:27 pm

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Judy Woodruff, the anchor of CNN's ``Inside Politics,'' is leaving the network when her contract expires in June.

Woodruff, 58, said Thursday that she hoped to teach, write and work on long-form documentaries. She'll also be a consultant and occasional contributor to CNN.

``This gives me the opportunity to sit back, take a deep breath and think about what I want to do,'' Woodruff told The Associated Press. ``I do want to stay in journalism. I'm not leaving journalism. I'm just leaving daily journalism.''

CNN offered Woodruff a new contract, but she had decided to leave before those discussions began.

Woodruff was chief White House correspondent for NBC News from 1977 to 1982, and covered Washington for the ``Today'' show. She left NBC for the PBS documentary series ``Frontline with Judy Woodruff'' and reported for the ``MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour.''

She joined CNN in 1993, and was a frequent anchor for breaking stories such as the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

There was no immediate word from CNN on whether ``Inside Politics,'' an hourlong program that airs each weekday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, would continue without her.

New CNN chief executive Jonathan Klein has talked about changing the way the network covers politics, and recently canceled ``Crossfire'' as a daily program.