CNN host Brian Stelter, shown in this photo from 2018, tells NPR he is leaving the network after canceling his media analysis show “Reliable Sources.” He had hosted the show for nine years.
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CNN host Brian Stelter, shown in this photo from 2018, tells NPR he is leaving the network after canceling his media analysis show “Reliable Sources.” He had hosted the show for nine years.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
CNN is canceling its Sunday media affairs show Reliable sourcesand host Brian Stelter is leaving the network, Stelter tells NPR.
In a statement to NPR, Stelter says he’s grateful for the show and his team’s examination of “media, truth and the stories that shape our world.”
“It’s been a rare privilege to host a weekly show focused on the press at a time when it’s never been more important,” Stelter said, promising to have more to say on Sunday’s show — his final episode .
Stelter began blogging about cable news as a student and went on to become a media reporter New York Times. Reliable sources is the longest running show on CNN; Stelter has directed it for the past nine years and celebrated the show’s 30th anniversary in March.
CNN chief Chris Licht informed Stelter of the decision yesterday. Licht has made cuts across the network since taking over as part of Warner Bros.’ takeover of the legacy Time Warner company.
The network pulled the plug on its independent digital platform, CNN+, for which it had hired former NPR host Audie Cornish and former Fox News host Chris Wallace before it launched. (Both stars have stayed at CNN.)
Stelter, who often touted the show’s ratings on Twitter, was among those CNN executives targeted for frequent criticism from conservatives about his media coverage during the Trump years.
Among those who publicly joined the broader criticism of CNN as politicized was investor John Malone, a major financial partner of the fledgling conglomerate WarnerDiscovery. During an episode in February, Stelter quoted Malone more than a dozen times in covering the Discovery deal for CNN and its sister properties, expressing some concern about the investor’s influence.
“Stelter came to CNN from New York Times as the main media journalist in the country. He leaves CNN as an impeccable broadcaster,” said Amy Entelis, CNN’s executive vice president of talent and content development. “We are proud of what Brian and his team have accomplished over the years, and we are confident that the impact and their influence will live on through the show.”
Stelter often described the rhetorical battles over politics, her reporting and even the facts, increasing the intensity of his periodic commentary during the tenure of former President Donald Trump. This earned him repeated criticism from pro-Trump figures and ridicule from Fox stars Greg Gutfeld and Tucker Carlson.
Stelter also covered CNN’s shortcomings, but was seen as a loyal team player under former CNN chief Jeff Zucker. As Stelter later acknowledged, he was slow to recognize the depth of the ethical problems posed by former CNN star Chris Cuomo advising his brother, then New York’s governor, on how to handle sexual harassment allegations.
A corporate spokesperson confirmed the show’s demise and said the network wished Stelter well in his future endeavors. The show began under veteran Washington correspondent Bernard Kalb and continued under longtime media reporter Howard Kurtz. Kurtz now hosts a show with a similar format on Fox News called MediaBuzz, which will become, at least for now, the only major national television show analyzing the business of news and journalism. In his time at Fox, Kurtz has rarely held his network accountable.
CNN says it will continue its popularity Reliable sources newspaper.
