Brian Stelter

A guest on Brian Stelter's "Reliable Sources" CNN show publicly aired speculation about whether an influential media executive was responsible for axing the ...

Neither CNN nor Malone returned requests for comment on Monday. “But then, I think he’s a businessman. “I don’t know the answer to that. “He said he’s not directly involved. During the program’s last show on Sunday, Insider’s chief media correspondent Claire Atkinson brought up media tycoon John Malone, a prominent shareholder of CNN’s parent company Warner Bros. [Atkinson asked](https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/08/22/panel-discusses-the-past-thirty-years-of-media-upheaval.cnn/video/playlists/business-reliable-sources/) without pausing for a reply.

Last week, CNN announced it was canceling "Reliable Sources" and Stelter would be exiting the network.

Some of his final “Reliable Sources” guests were more direct. It was Stelter’s most direct reference to what is believed to be the reason for his demise; CNN hasn’t talked publicly about it. “It’s not partisan to stand up to demagogues,” he said.

Sunday marked the end of an era at CNN, as Brian Stelter signed off in the final episode of long-running series Reliable Sources.

You got to hold your local digital outlet accountable," he said. "That's why CNN needs to be strong," he continued. It's patriotic." "That's why believe CNN will be strong. "It's required. "We must make sure we don't give platforms to those who are lying to our faces.

The cancelation of “Reliable Sources” came just four months after Chris Licht began pursuing plans to make CNN less partisan.

And not just CNN, you’ve got to hold your local paper accountable, you’ve got to hold your local digital outlet accountable—it’s on all of us.” “It is not partisan to stand up to demagogues—it’s required, it’s patriotic. “It is not partisan to stand up for decency and democracy and dialogue,” he argued. [told CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/18/john-malone-says-warnermedia-discovery-getting-rid-of-cnn-would-be-the-cowards-way-out.html) that he “would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with.” [reportedly](https://www.axios.com/2022/06/07/cnn-evaluating-partisan-talent-chris-licht?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_content=economy-business-cnn) monitoring its program anchors to make sure they are “adjust to a less partisan tone and strategy.” [announced last week](https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118197553/brian-stelter-cnn-canceled-show), with his departure coinciding with the cancelation of “Reliable Sources,” which aired on CNN for 30 years.

Outgoing CNN anchor Brian Stelter began the final episode of his Sunday show, Reliable Sources, by suggesting the gloves were off.

“We have been building upon the Reliable television brand with newsletters and podcasts in recent years, and now Reliable Sources Daily is the ultimate expansion,” Stelter [said](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/cnn-reliable-sources-streaming-brian-stelter-1235184876/) at the time. [not the first time](https://www.mediaite.com/uncategorized/discovery-media-board-chair-john-malone-lauds-fox-news-before-saying-he-wants-cnn-to-evolve-back-to-actual-journalism/) Malone has cited Baier, who has shown a slight [willingness](https://www.newsweek.com/fox-host-confronts-trump-pick-tudor-dixon-backing-stolen-election-claim-1729447) to [push back against](https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1558159107340763139?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1558159107340763139%7Ctwgr%5E93794fc6ae246d2bb4945ace4a5b2e9ef928847f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybeast.com%2Ffox-news-bret-baier-shuts-down-trump-excuse-says-obama-documents-were-handled-properly%3Fsource%3Darticlesvia%3Drss) Donald Trump, and Fox News in his vision for CNN. If I watched CNN via Fox News, I would hate CNN too.” Back in February, Stelter [himself](https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/rs/date/2022-02-06/segment/01) questioned what Malone criticizing CNN for “too much advocacy, too much commentary, too little reporting from the world” meant for the [future of the network](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/06/the-chris-licht-era-at-cnn-is-taking-shape). [hyped](https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1560371421523726336?s=20&t=GAsIrunc-fX7lWZ8-pmx4Q) [ever](https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1560754802618994691?s=20&t=GAsIrunc-fX7lWZ8-pmx4Q) [since](https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1561318384888856577?s=20&t=GAsIrunc-fX7lWZ8-pmx4Q) the news [broke](https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118197553/brian-stelter-cnn-canceled-show) last week that CNN had decided to cancel the 30-year-old media affairs show—its longest-running program—and that Stelter, the company man who’d hosted it for the past nine years, would be departing the network as a result. [According](https://deadline.com/2022/08/cnn-firings-brian-stelter-chris-licht-john-malone-warner-bros-discovery-1235096292/) to Deadline, Licht only bolstered anxiety inside CNN on Friday when, at Friday’s editorial meeting, he said more changes are on the way. But Stelter's comment takes on new meaning with [speculation](https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/8/18/23312362/brian-stelter-cnn-warner-brothers-discovery-john-malone-reliable-sources) that John Malone—the billionaire media mogul and key shareholder in Warner Bros. As a CNN employee [told](https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/8/18/23312362/brian-stelter-cnn-warner-brothers-discovery-john-malone-reliable-sources) Vox’s Peter Kafka last week, “John Malone doesn’t watch CNN. (Wallace’s interview show was originally scheduled to air on Sundays, until the much-hyped streaming service [became the first victim](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/behind-the-scenes-of-cnns-stunning-fall) of the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger weeks after its launch.) Stelter, too, had a show on CNN+—Reliable Sources Daily, a [weekday edition](https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/cnn-reliable-sources-streaming-brian-stelter-1235184876/) of the Sunday show. [reporting](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/08/brian-stelter-canceled-cnn-reliable-sources) around Stelter’s departure and, more broadly, CNN's new leadership, this may sounds like a general comment on the role of the press today. But he did close with what appeared to be somewhat veiled [criticism](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/aug/22/brian-stelter-cnn-cancels-show-reliable-sources?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other) of the company's new corporate overlords, namely of CNN’s new leader Chris Licht's [mandate](https://www.axios.com/2022/06/07/cnn-evaluating-partisan-talent-chris-licht) to make the outlet more neutral: “It is not partisan to stand up for decency and democracy and dialogue. [Ultimately](https://twitter.com/justinbaragona/status/1561384505604116480?s=20&t=o7b-poEoDpOPc3EoJKPlQg), Stelter's sign off was sentimental and thankful for the opportunities CNN (and its former leader, Jeff Zucker) afforded him. They have no idea what I’m gonna say,” he said at the top of the episode, a swan song that Stelter had