Campbell Brown Leaves Her CNN show, Blames Ratings

NEW YORK (CBS) CNN's Campbell Brown has no qualms about stating the absolute, exact reason she's stepping away from her CNN show - poor ratings.

"The simple fact is that not enough people want to watch my program," says Brown in an official statement she issued today.

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Of course, in the world of TV news, not everything's so cut-and-dry. It's a decision the 41-year-old anchor - and CNN - has been thinking about for some time. The New York Post's Cindy Adams wrote that "rumblings" about Campbell Brown "going onward, up ward, forward and outward" from the 24/7 news outlet surfaced as early as March.

As for why: Kids? Newer opportunities? Having her own voice? These are all points she highlights in her statement, but adds, "I owe it to myself to get out of the way ,so that CNN can try something else. CNN will have to figure out what that is."

Brown's 8 p.m. show has struggled in the ratings since it began in March 2008, consistently placing fourth behind Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, Headline News' Nancy Grace and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.