Brian Stelter To Leave CNN As Network Drops ‘Reliable Sources’

CNN is dropping its Sunday show Reliable Sources while its host, Brian Stelter, is exiting the network.

A spokesperson for CNN said, “CNN will end its Reliable Sources program 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.”

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The show’s team was notified of the cancellation on Thursday. Their jobs also are being cut, but they will be given the opportunity to apply for new jobs at CNN, according to the network. The network did not say what programming would replace the one-hour program.

Stelter did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but he said in a statement to NPR, “It was a rare privilege to lead a weekly show focused on the press at a time when it has never been more consequential.”

His exit is one of the biggest moves so far at the network under new chairman and CEO Chris Licht, who joined the network on May 1.

Network staffers have been expecting significant changes under the new leadership, with a bit of unease. Even before Licht started, the new Warner Bros. Discovery quickly shut down the network’s subscription streaming service, CNN+, just weeks after it launched. The service included a daily version of Reliable Sources. Warner Bros. Discovery, the new parent company of CNN, also is said to be eyeing $3 billion in savings from the combination of the two media giants.

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 started three decades ago, but Stelter began hosting it in 2013, overhauling the program and adding a daily newsletter under the same name.

Stelter also has been a frequent on-air presence during CNN news programming, particularly in commenting on Donald Trump and his attacks on the media. That made Stelter a frequent target on the right — and from hosts on Fox News — for his coverage of Trump and the CNN rival.

John Malone, one of the largest shareholders in Warner Bros. Discovery, publicly criticized CNN back in November, when the merger was pending, suggested that it had drifted too far from journalism. In the aftermath of Jeff Zucker’s departure from CNN earlier this year, Stelter pushed back on Malone’s comments and wrote in the Reliable Sources newsletter that they “stoked fears that Discovery might stifle CNN journalists and steer away from calling out indecency and injustice.” After Licht joined CNN, Axios reported that he wanted on-air talent to take on a less partisan tone, as he is said to have been concerned over the image of the CNN brand.

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 was one of Zucker’s high-profile hires, having been lured away from The New York Times. Just out of college, Stelter joined the Times in 2007, and quickly made a mark for his frequent scoops and social media presence. He created the TVNewser blog while still a student, and it became a must-read in the media news business. He is the author of Hoax: Donald Trump, Fox News and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth, as well as Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV. The latter became the inspiration for the Apple+ series The Morning Show.

Last week, longtime CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin announced that he was parting ways with the network.

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