As CNN Hit Reset, Brian Stelter Became A Prime Target

CNN is axing its Sunday morning media show, "Reliable Sources," and waving goodbye to host Brian Stelter, the network confirmed in a statement Thursday.  According to Business Insider, the small staff of the show are also departing, while media reporter Oliver Darcy will remain at the news network. 

In place of "Reliable Sources," CNN is considering repeats of John King's "Inside Politics" and other news shows after Stelter's final broadcast this weekend, according to an insider familiar with plans at the network. 

Chris Licht

Licht, the CEO of CNN Worldwide, wanted to reduce the amount of media criticism on air — much of it targeted at Fox News and right wing media. The exec is instead putting together a new show concept embracing the broader culture and including such features perhaps as political fact-checking, this person said, adding that the new show is planned to launch early next year. 

Other big names are expected to exit the network in the coming weeks as Licht starts to implement a new vision for more even-handed CNN. The network's top legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, also stepped down last week after 20 years at the network. All eyes are on some of the more opinionated commentators, such as anchor and chief domestic correspondent Jim Acosta, who frequently tussled with former President Trump. With Trump

Several CNN staffers who spoke to Insider were taken aback by the news, which was first reported Thursday by NPR. The insider familiar with plans said the nightly "Reliable Sources" newsletter, until now co-authored by Stelter and Darcy, will continue.  

"Chris Licht wants to shake-up Sunday and rejigger the line-up," a TV industry news executive from outside CNN told Insider, adding that the decision to axe Stelter was not surprising given comments made by John Malone — an influential board member of CNN's parent, Warner Bros. Discovery — that the network's coverage was too opinion-centered. 

"I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with and, you know, actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing," Malone told CNBC in November. Stelter has been an outspoken critic of Fox News.

A second source familiar with conversations at CNN said of Stelter's ouster, "John Malone's fingerprints are all over this." 

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John Malone

According to TheWrap, many observers believe Licht aims to tone down any politically-pointed coverage in a pivot from the strategy pursued by his flashier predecessor, Jeff Zucker, who was ousted earlier this year over a workplace affair but who nonetheless drove the network to improved ratings during the Trump years. 

“It’s not a good brand position to be the opposite of Fox News,” said a network insider familiar with Licht’s thinking. “He wants to be tough and no bulls—, but not affiliated with a side. It’s fair to say he doesn’t like the CNN vs. Fox thing.”

And that made Stelter a prime target. The media correspondent frequently took strong positions against the misinformation of the Trump administration and got into on-air scuffles with Fox News, which he frequently called out for inaccurate and misleading reporting. Fox News often returned the favor, with primetime host Sean Hannity mocking Stelter as a “fake-news Humpty Dumpty” and other similar attacks. 

Those exchanges got the attention of Liberty Media's John Malone, a Warner Bros. Discovery board member who owned in 2021 more than 93% of Discovery’s Class B shares and remains a major stakeholder in the company post-merger. In late 2021, Malone made waves with a CNBC interview when he said CNN should return to nonpartisan journalism once under Discovery’s control. “I 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,” Malone sniped at the time. 

"Reliable Sources," which has been on air since 1992, is set to end on August 21. The New York Times reported that Stelter had three more years left on his contract.