We hear foreign accents on CNN. It's crazy, it's wild, who knows, maybe they'll take you because you certainly don't fit in, in the American spectrum of news.

But 17 years ago, I arrived at CNN with a suitcase, with my bicycle, and with about 100 dollars.

I leave CNN with the utmost respect, love and admiration for the company and everyone who works here. This has been my family and shared endeavor for the past 27 years, and I am forever grateful and proud of all that we have accomplished.

For instance, why are we terrorizing this country, leading with murder and mayhem, when crime is actually on the decline, as somebody, as somebody mentioned?

We manage the fear, I manage the fear, but it certainly takes its toll, the strain does.

If we have no respect for our viewers, then how can we have any respect for ourselves and what we do?

We do it because we're committed, because we're believers.

I was planning, I told everybody, to take him on the road with me. At the very least I fully expected to keep up my hectic pace, and my passion as a war correspondent.

In emerging democracies like Russia, in authoritarian states like Iran or even Yugoslavia, journalists play a vital role in civil society. In fact, they form the very basis of those new democracies and civil societies.

And I believe that good journalism, good television, can make our world a better place.