Soledad O'Brien the host of CNN's morning show "Starting Point" is to leave her position according to the New York Times.

O'Brien is to partner with the network to produce a series of documentaries like her well-known franchise "Black in America." She announced on Thursday she is forming a company called Starfish Media Group to produce such projects for CNN, however it will not be tied exclusively to CNN.

"We had conversations in general about my role at CNN," O'Brien told the Times. "What we ended up with was, they wanted to partner with me, and I wanted to partner with them."

O'Brien stated the opportunity to "focus on the next stage of my career, owning my own network."

"So, we're talking about what ways I can contribute to CNN, doing the stuff that I like to do, which is hard-hitting journalism," she added, noting that she was interested in doing documentaries.

"We greatly value Soledad's experience, and her first-rate storytelling will continue to be an asset to CNN," said Zucker, president of CNN Worldwide.

"Documentaries and longform storytelling are important to our brand, and we're anticipating more of what we've come to expect from her -- riveting content," he added.

CNN issued a press release later stating it was excited to be "entering into a production and distribution agreement" with O'Brien, who was described as a "critically acclaimed journalist."