oneworldtalk

CNN's Christiane Amanpour is pulling a chair up behind a desk for the first time to front her own show.

At the same she has attacked the emerging world of online news commentary and what she calls superficial analysis passing itself off as journalism, saying the role of journalists is now more important than ever.

CNN International launches Amanpour on September 22 and the multi-award-winning journalist promises it will "peel back the onion" on global events and "stir the global conscience" in a way she never could on the road.

"What I strongly believe is we have entered an age where paradoxically there are so many more platforms, so much more sophisticated technology, so many better delivery systems for information and news, but understanding is being lost."
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"People's understanding of these situations is actually decreasing -- that's what people are saying," she said. "Our viewers are telling us they want more depth, more context, to understand more, to have more perspective and that's what I think I can do -- sitting back, not being as much a fireman, but able to digest and explain these things for our audience and with our audience. It's not just a vanity project to travel, it's getting to be the eyes and the ears on the ground -- it can be massively valuable and necessary."

Amanpour has attacked the style of reporting being driven by bloggers in the digital era that she says passes as journalism.

"You cannot get away from the reality that reporters are as necessary, if not more necessary, because there seems to be this (concession) now that you can just sit back in a room and blog and write and observe and opine and that passes for experience and knowledge in the field.

"There is a place for fact-based information where sources are credible journalists who have a code of conduct and can really ply their trade.

"So I think that is still very, very important now -- as much as, if not more than, ever."

Amanpour said the early days of the new show would be a learning curve for her as she adapted her on-the-road style to the atmosphere of the studio.