Two years after CNN canceled his show “Reliable Sources,” Brian Stelter is returning to the media network.
“I will be returning to CNN in a brand new role as chief media analyst,” Stelter announced in the network’s “Reliable Sources” newsletter on Tuesday. “I will be responsible for on-air and digital content development, as well as editing this newsletter.” Stelter said his start date for the newsletter is Sept. 9.
Stelter left CNN in August 2022 during a tumultuous tenure under former CEO Chris Licht, whose brief 13-month tenure at CNN saw multiple changes to the on-air lineup and erratic programming, including at the time Reliable Sources, a TV staple since 1993.
Now, under the direction of former New York Times and BBC chief executive Mark Thompson, the cable news network is once again revamping its coverage, including a new organizational structure and an overhaul of its text-based digital news sites amid cost-cutting. “I’m thrilled to welcome Brian to CNN in this new role,” Thompson said in a statement. “Brian is one of the world’s foremost experts on media commentary and, as founder of the Reliable Source newsletter, he is the perfect person to lead Reliable Source into its next chapter.”
Stelter joined CNN in 2013 after stints at The New York Times and TVNewser. After leaving the network after nine years there, CNN’s Oliver Darcy took over the Reliable Sources newsletter, which regularly covers the media industry and its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. Darcy left CNN in August to launch Status, a paid newsletter startup covering media industry news.
In July, CNN cut another 100 staff members, about 3% of its workforce. Thompson pledged to realign the brand for a video-based future. “The CNN brand represents, above all, delivering the news in video and audio, with our on-screen anchors and correspondents serving as your trusted guides,” Thompson wrote in the memo. “Going forward, our digital products must much better reflect the overwhelming strength of CNN’s video and anchor/reporters.”
In relaunching his Reliable Source newsletter on Tuesday, Stelter wrote: “I’ve always scoffed at people who say, ‘Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to me,’ but it happened. After more than 20 years as a news junkie, I changed my habits and stopped watching the news for a while. I also changed my perspective, moving from Manhattan to a horse farm near Donald Trump’s golf club. I began to experience the news more like a regular consumer, and in doing so, I learned a lot about the attention economy and the information ecosystem.”