Brian Stelter

"Stelter came to CNN from the New York Times as the nation's top media reporter. He departs CNN an impeccable broadcaster," she said in a statement. "We are ...

Stelter covered the media business, including pop culture, cable news and politics. "We appreciate his contributions to the network and wish him well as he embarks on new endeavors." He departs CNN an impeccable broadcaster," she said in a statement.

The 30-year-old "Reliable Sources" is the first major programming casualty under CNN's new boss Chris Licht.

He has also said he planned to overhaul the network’s morning show, “New Day.” The small staff dedicated to working on the weekly television show will have the opportunity to apply for new jobs at CNN. CNN Plus was also the home for a daily version of “Reliable Sources,” hosted by Stelter, before it was shuttered. In addition to his weekly show, Stelter also produced an influential daily email newsletter about the media for CNN. His show was one of only two national television news programs dedicated to reporting on and analyzing the media industry. The veteran news producer and television executive began serving as chairman and chief executive of CNN Worldwide in May, replacing Jeff Zucker, who was pushed out by parent company management in February.

A move away from opinion and back to news didn't have to mean killing off CNN's longest-running show. But the network's critics won.

CNN in effect amplified those voices when it could easily have defended its longest-running show and made it a part of the network’s future. The problem is that killing Reliable Sources doesn’t move CNN closer to the center as much as it confirms what the network’s worst critics have said, and hands those people the satisfaction of seeing Stelter dismissed. The story called Stelter a “left-wing lackey.” Others accused Stelter of pulling punches in covering media stories about CNN: “He was a flawed but essential voice in the national media. Reliable Sources has been one of CNN’s few ratings success stories, regularly finishing as the network’s highest-rated weekend show. The last edition of Reliable Sources will air on Sunday.

The sudden cancellation of the outspoken anchor and media reporter's show, 'Reliable Sources,' may offer clues about the network's future under newly ...

No one is telling him what to do or how it works.” Whether Stelter’s exit augurs any additional shake-ups is yet to be seen, but we won’t have to wait long: Licht is expected to put more of a stamp on the network come fall. “But at the end of the day, Licht is executing his vision on how to get there. Another knowledgeable source told me word on the street is that CNN is looking at a broader revamp of its Sunday programming, but a spokesperson didn’t immediately get back to me with a comment. [said](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/18/john-malone-says-warnermedia-discovery-getting-rid-of-cnn-would-be-the-cowards-way-out.html) he “would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing.” The widespread interpretation of those remarks is that Malone wants CNN to be less liberal, which could explain the cancellation of Stelter’s Reliable Sources, a weekly media show—dunzo after this Sunday’s edition—that emerged over the past several years as one of the most adversarial chroniclers of modern-day GOP meshugas. Hence all the talk of diversifying CNN’s contributor ranks, and the olive branches to Republicans, which Licht handed out recently on a romp through Capitol Hill. As one well-placed source suggested to me when the news began leaking out on Thursday afternoon, “John Malone, John Malone, John Malone.” That would be the billionaire media mogul and Warner Bros.

Did CNN's Brian Stelter lose his job because of politics or money? Two theories about the departure of CNN's star media reporter — and what it tells us about ...

I hate saying “wait and see” at the end of stories like this. And CNN spokesman Matt Dornic told me that the news service is under no pressure from its new owner to reduce headcount, noting that Licht has said he wants to hire more journalists. Malone said he wants “the ‘news’ portion of CNN to be more centrist, but I am not in control or directly involved.” But that may not be anything close to enough to help the parent company hit its numbers. So in this theory, Malone believes Stelter represents the excesses of CNN’s coverage. The only thing I’m sure about is that he wants to use his swan song to talk about all of this. David Zaslav](https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1351906876980678657?s=21&t=CXfSx8Nqz2-3YMuNrzU3gQ) — but not a huge draw for normals. “If I watched CNN via Fox News, I would hate CNN too.” John Malone only watches CNN via Fox News,” says a CNN employee. That’s the preamble. But before we get there, let’s talk about why we’re talking about Brian Stelter: Yes, people in media care way too much about other people in media. And media reporters — like me — are even guiltier of this.

The last episode of “Reliable Sources,” which started three decades ago, will air Sunday.

“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,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development of CNN Worldwide, in a statement. He has hosted the show for nine years. “We appreciate his contributions to the network and wish him well as he embarks on new endeavors,” the CNN spokesperson said of Stelter.

CNN's chairman and CEO Chris Licht told anxious staffers Friday that more changes are coming to CNN in wake of Brian Stelter's exit.

Malone himself told The New York Times in an email that he had “nothing to do with” the cancellation of Reliable Sources. “As for me, well, I have to gather my thoughts,” Stelter wrote on the augmented version of his widely read “Reliable Sources” newsletter last night. “Oliver Darcy will be working on a reimagined ‘Reliable Sources’ newsletter,” he told staff. In that vein, Licht tried to paint the best face possible on Thursday’s dismissals, which also include staffers of Reliable Sources, who are being given the option of applying for their jobs elsewhere at the network. Reliable Sources’ Oliver Darcy announced on social media Thursday that he would remain at CNN, a statement he reiterated in Thursday’s newsletter. “He is caught between a rock and a hard place and getting squeezed.” The source added about the influential stockholder, “If this isn’t coming from John Malone directly, it sure represents his thinking with lieutenants doing his bidding.” [Warner Bros Discovery](https://deadline.com/tag/warner-bros-discovery-2/)-owned cable newser worried about both the direction CNN is going and their own jobs. He wrote that Malone’s comments had “stoked fears that Discovery might stifle CNN journalists and steer away from calling out indecency and injustice.” “This isn’t why Chris came to CNN, to fire people,” a well-placed corporate source noted. That process is likely to lead to changes, Licht said. I know that it is unsettling.”