Networks in a Bidding War for CNN Correspondent Amanpour

Christiane Amanpour, the award-winning war correspondent for CNN, is being wooed by executives at NBC, CBS and ABC to leave CNN and join one of the broadcast networks’ news divisions.

Amanpour, whose contract with CNN expires Thursday, recently won the Polk, Peabody and duPont awards for her reporting from Bosnia-Herzegovina. She is one of the few news stars on CNN and the cable news operation is bidding to maintain her services.

Executives at all three broadcast networks are reportedly offering the 36-year-old Amanpour jobs as a foreign correspondent on their nightly evening newscasts, along with a much larger paycheck.

NBC News president Andrew Lack has been particularly active in personally pursuing Amanpour for NBC. In addition to a spot on “NBC Nightly News,” the network is offering Amanpour time on SuperChannel, the European superstation (recently purchased by NBC) that is running NBC News programs and is expected to expand its news programming.

Amanpour, on assignment for CNN in Rwanda, began her career as a desk assistant for CNN in 1983 before becoming a war correspondent, first in the Persian Gulf War.

News executives say Amanpour is unusual among TV reporters in her devotion to the story she is covering--and her relative lack of interest in being a network anchor or a newsmagazine feature reporter.

CNN, sources said, is offering Amanpour a substantial pay increase, but it is unclear whether the network is willing to approach the size of the broadcast offers. Amanpour is expected to continue working for CNN in Rwanda past the contract deadline as the negotiations are resolved during the next several days.

“We’re still in active discussions with Christiane,” CNN spokesman Steve Haworth said Tuesday. “We think the world of her as a journalist and a person, and we hope she’ll stay at CNN.”