Former CNN Anchor Dies at 62 After Lung Cancer Battle
A disgraced CNN anchor who was ousted from the journalism industry after she used the N-word in a private exchange with a black source died at 62 last week after a battle with lung cancer. Valerie Hoff DeCarlo served as an anchor on CNN from 1992 to 1999.
In 2017, while pursuing a potential story about racial and police violence, Hoff DeCarlo referred to herself as a “news n—as” in a private message to a man who had posted a video she was trying to investigate.
The man, who was black, had previously written in a public post that many “news n—as” were trying to obtain the footage, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
If she is bold enough to say it to me, being an African American, then I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first time she has used that word,” the man told the outlet
Hoff DeCarlo attempted to explain that she was referring to herself as a “n—a. ”
The man then asked for her manager or lawyer’s contact information, and the situation escalated when he posted the private messages online.
WXIA placed Hoff DeCarlo on a two week suspension before she ultimately resigned, the outlet reported
After leaving the station, she attempted to reenter journalism as a citizen reporter through her own blog, which has since been deleted.
Hoff DeCarlo was a married mother of two sons.
Valerie Hoff DeCarlo Atlanta, GA Death, Obituary: CNN Journalist and Formerly of 11Alive Dies after a Valiant Cancer Battlehttps://t.co/qOOrAiCMML
— Rolloverfuneralnews (@Rolloverfuneral) November 29, 2025
One of her children was adopted from Russia after she and her husband, Derrick DeCarlo, struggled with infertility, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution obituary.
She was known for blending personal and professional experiences in her reporting, including stories tied to her family’s adoption journey and her battle with breast cancer in 2013
Hoff DeCarlo was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2024.
She had been organizing a family cruise trip and planning to host a Christmas party just weeks before she died, close friends told the outlet.
She was a force with everything she did
She was a strong, capable, loving woman and a wonderful mother,” her husband said.
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