Former CNN host Brian Stelter is returning to the network two years after CNN fired him and canceled his Reliable Sources show during a time of upheaval.
Stelter announced Tuesday on CNN’s Reliable Sources media newsletter that he will be coming back as the author of the newsletter he founded.
“I’m returning to @CNN in a brand new role as Chief Media Analyst. I’ll be appearing on TV, developing digital content, and once again helming the Reliable Sources newsletter,” Stelter said on X after sending out the newsletter.
I’m returning to @CNN in a brand new role as Chief Media Analyst. I’ll be appearing on TV, developing digital content, and once again helming the Reliable Sources newsletter.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 3, 2024
His return follows the departure of CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy, who previously authored Reliable Sources. Darcy left CNN last month to launch an independent nightly media tip sheet.
Between his CNN stints, Stelter was a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School and a special correspondent for Vanity Fair. He freelanced for other media outlets and continued to appear on the network occasionally, even after CNN fired him. He also appeared on BBC as a political commentator.
Stelter hosted the Reliable Sources show for the better part of a decade and became one of CNN’s better-known left-wing personalities. His partisan approach drew frequent criticism from conservatives, especially for promoting the dunked Steele dossier and leading the media campaign to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story.
More recently, Stelter downplayed the mainstream media’s failure to adequately cover President Joe Biden’s mental decline before his disastrous debate performance in June.
Aside from that, Stelter was known for airing softball interviews with Biden-administration officials and defending former CNN colleague Chris Cuomo when he came under fire for secretly advising his disgraced brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
Former CNN boss Chris Licht’s decision to fire Stelter was part of his ill-fated attempt to shift the network’s coverage in a more centrist, less partisan direction.
Stelter was previously a media reporter for the New York Times, a position he started after graduating from college. Stelter has written two books on the close relationship between former president Donald Trump and Fox News.
“The media industry has matured, CNN has evolved, and I have changed a lot since I signed off two years ago. I loved my old life as the anchor of a Sunday morning show but, to borrow some lingo from my video game blogger days, I finished that level of the game. Time for new levels, new challenges,” Stelter said in the newsletter.
Expressing gratitude for his firing, Stelter attributed his new perspective to the opportunity he had to be a stay-at-home dad to his children and consume the news less frequently.