Brian Stelter Back On CNN!

CNN rehires Brian Stelter.

Former CNN boss Chris Licht fired him from CNN in 2022 after he warned all hosts to not follow the Fox and MSNBC model of shock and awe. Brian Stelter often critical of Fox, former president Donald J. Trump and Sean "Softball" Hannity is back at home.

Now it is confirmed that Stelter will return to the cable outlet as their chief media analyst. He will replace former media analyst and partner Oliver Darcy, who recently left to launch Status. He returns to CNN on Sept. 9.

I am thrilled to share that I am returning as the lead author of CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter, the digest I founded in 2015.

But this is not going to be a "Back to the Future" remake. 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.

I'm returning to CNN in a brand new role as Chief Media Analyst, which means I'll be appearing on air, developing digital content, and helming this newsletter. It will be different, because I am different.

I always scoffed at people who said "getting fired was the best thing that's ever happened to me" — until, well, it happened to me. After 20+ years as a news junkie, I changed my habits and tuned out for a bit. I also changed my vantage point, moving from Manhattan to a horse farm near one of Donald Trump's golf clubs. I experienced the news more like an everyday consumer, and in doing so, I learned a whole lot about the attention economy and the information ecosystem. I’m looking forward to sharing what I learned with you.

I was incredibly lucky to have time as a stay-at-home dad. In the hours when 7-year-old Sunny and 5-year-old Story were at school, I tried on a variety of other hats: Harvard fellow, BBC talking head, magazine writer. I authored a book, and more importantly had time to read lots of others' books. I wrote for more than 20 publications, from The Atlantic to WIRED, and learned about the ups and downs of freelance life. And I hosted a podcast for Vanity Fair, "Inside the Hive," which I will continue to lead through the end of the year.

All the while I remained an avid reader of Reliable Sources, and especially admired Oliver Darcy's fearless reportage, as well as his decision to launch Status last month. I'm rooting for Oliver and, as I have told him personally, I think we're going to complement each other wonderfully.

Amid a slew of changes to the network’s programming and personnel by then-president Chris Licht, CNN canceled its long-running “Reliable Sources” Sunday program, which Stelter hosted for years, late in the summer of 2022.

Before joining CNN, Stelter served as a media reporter for The New York Times after getting his start blogging about the television news industry while still a student in college.

Stelter also has a podcast with Vanity Fair.

I held back on posting on Stelter. He has appeared on CNN and MSNBC frequently as a contributor to media coverage of Fox and its Dominion settlement.

MSNBC was hoping to secure a deal with Stelter. He would have gotten a spot and he would contribute to media coverage of the 2024 election. Stelter would be free to say political commentary without being pulled off the air.