News/Commentary

CNN brings back Brian Stelter and network invests heavily in fake news

September 4, 2024 | | Print Article

A September surprise at CNN marked the return of a “reliable” personality whose penchant for storytelling would steer the network through the election as “chief media analyst.”

Like a comedic callback to Stephen Colbert’s recent laugh line about the network being objective, CNN appeared to confirm its coverage would go exactly as expected moving forward as, more than two years after being canned, Brian Stelter was back.

Revealing the news himself, the Russia collusion-fond commentator shared a letter that he penned to readers where he revealed with a “SURPRISE!” that, “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.”

With his on-air return slated for Sept. 9, one day before former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were scheduled to debate, Stelter explained, “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.”

When the talking head, often referred to as the potato, had been among the casualties during CNN’s shakeup under then-CEO Chris Licht, he had signed off his program with sanctimony as he said in part, “Here’s what I do know. I know it’s not partisan to stand up for decency, and democracy, and dialogue. It’s not partisan to stand up to demagogues, it is patriotic.”

“We must not give platforms to those who are lying to our faces,” he added suggesting, “But we also must make sure that we are representing the full spectrum of debate and representing what’s going on in this country and in this world.”

In his letter to readers as he reclaimed the newsletter after Oliver Darcy quit in August, the 39-year-old wrote, “The media industry has matured, CNN has evolved, and I have changed a lot since I signed off two years ago. 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.”

A statement from CNN’s current CEO Mark Thompson expressed, “I’m very happy to welcome Brian back to CNN in this new role. Brian is one of the best global experts in media commentary, and as the founder of the Reliable Sources newsletter, he is the perfect choice to lead Reliable Sources into its next chapter.”

Meanwhile, as the pundit began trending on X, users ripped him and the network was keen to dredge up the sort of coverage that Stelter was notorious for, which included his favor for associating Trump with Russia and for dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story prior to the 2020 presidential election as an example of “manufacturing a storyline.”

Kevin Haggerty
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