Brian Stelter out at CNN, ‘Reliable Sources’ canceled

Brian Stelter, the host of CNN’s Reliable Sources and the network’s chief media correspondent, is leaving the company, a network spokesperson confirmed to The Inquirer.

Stelter, a former New York Times reporter, joined CNN in 2013 to replace Howard Kurtz, who is now on Fox News. The show has been canceled and Stelter will host the final episode Sunday. The show’s entire staff has also been laid off, but will be able to apply for new positions at CNN.

“Stelter came to CNN from the New York Times as the nation’s top media reporter. He departs CNN an impeccable broadcaster,” Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “We are proud of what Brian and his team accomplished over the years, and we’re confident their impact and influence will long outlive the show.”

The move comes following the merger of Discovery with WarnerMedia, which owns CNN. Chris Licht, the former executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, was named the chairman and CEO in May. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has said he wants CNN to focus more on its journalism and appeal to more conservatives.

“Journalism first. America needs a news network where everybody can come and be heard — Republicans, Democrats,” Zaslav said last month. “I think you’re seeing more of that at CNN. We’re not going to look at the ratings and, in the long run, it’s going to be worth more.”

Licht has been making cuts at the network, and informed Stelter of the decision on Wednesday, according to NPR’s David Folkenflik. The move comes as CNN has yet to name an anchor for its 9 p.m. timeslot to replace Chris Cuomo, whom the network fired in December.

Stelter has been a media scoop machine for CNN, but is probably best known for his coverage of Fox News during the Trump administration, and wrote a bestselling book about the network called Hoax. As a result, he has frequently been the target of right-wing harassment on social media and by Fox News hosts.

“I’m grateful for my nine years with CNN, proud of what we accomplished on Reliable Sources and so thankful for the viewers who tuned in every week for our examination of the media, truth and the stories that shape our world,” Stelter said in a statement. “It was a rare privilege to lead a weekly show focused on the press at a time when it has never been more consequential.”

Reliable Sources had been CNN’s longest-running show, dating back to 1992, with Stelter hosting for the past nine years. Lehigh University Journalism professor Jeremy Littau said he wasn’t surprised by the cancellation, given the $55 billion in debt Warner Bros. Discovery amassed as part of its merger. But he also question’s the company’s commitment to CNN’s journalistic mission.

“Stelter’s show was this place for reasoned, levelheaded self-criticism that media doesn’t do very much. And he took on his own network sometimes,” Littau said. “The role he served was very unique across news, and I think it served as a way to distinguish them from some of their cable competitors.”

Stelter’s wife, Jamie, is a Philadelphia native and former Fox 29 traffic reporter who currently works as a morning co-anchor for NY1.