Reliable Sources, a Sunday programme on CNN, will no longer air while Brian Stelter, its host, leaves the network.
According to a CNN representative, “CNN will end its Reliable Sources programme on Sunday, August 21st. As a result Brian Stelter will leave the company. We appreciate his contributions to the network and wish him well as he embarks on new endeavors.”
The cancellation was announced to the show’s cast on Thursday. Their positions are also being eliminated, but the network says they will be offered the chance to apply for new positions at CNN. The network remained silent regarding the replacement programmes.
In a statement to NPR, Stelter said, “It was a rare privilege to lead a weekly show focused on the press at a time when it has never been more consequential.”
One of the largest decisions made by the network under new chairman and CEO Chris Licht, who joined the organisation on May 1, is his departure.
With some trepidation, network employees have been anticipating big changes under the new leadership. Even before Licht began, the new Warner Bros. Discovery swiftly terminated CNN+, the network’s paid streaming service, only a few weeks after it had been introduced. A daily edition of Reliable Sources was offered as part of the service. The merger of the two media behemoths is believed to have saved $3 billion for Warner Bros. Discovery, the new parent company of CNN.
Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement, “Stelter came to CNN from the New York Times as the nation’s top media reporter. He departs CNN an impeccable broadcaster. 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.”
Reliable Sources has been running for thirty years, but Stelter took up hosting duties in 2013, revamping the show and adding a daily email with the same name.
Stelter has also frequently appeared on-air during CNN newscasts, especially when commenting on Donald Trump and his criticism of the media. That made Stelter a regular target on the right for his coverage of Trump and the competing CNN, as well as from Fox News hosts.
When the acquisition was still pending in November, John Malone, one of Warner Bros. Discovery’s top owners, publicly criticised CNN and said that it had strayed too far from journalism. In response to Malone’s remarks, Stelter stated in the Reliable Sources newsletter that they “stoked suspicions that Discovery may constrain CNN journalists and veer away from calling out obscenity and injustice” shortly after Jeff Zucker left CNN earlier this year. After Licht joined CNN, Axios claimed that he wanted the network’s on-air talent to adopt a less partisan tone because he was worried about the CNN brand’s reputation.
Oliver Darcy, who has been senior media reporter at CNN, wrote on Twitter, “End of an era. It has been a hell of a ride working with Brian Stelter and the Reliable Sources team over the last five years. Brian has been a first-class colleague, mentor and friend. I cannot wait to see what he does next.” Darcy said that he will continue at the network. What is unclear is what will happen with the newsletter.
Stelter, who had been enticed away from The New York Times, was one of Zucker’s well-known hires. Stelter joined the Times in 2007 after graduating from college, and he rapidly became known for his regular scoops and active social media presence. While still a student, he started the TVNewser blog, which quickly rose to prominence in the media news industry. He is the author of Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV and Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth. The Morning Show, an Apple+ series, was based on the latter.