CNN canceled Brian Stelter’s Sunday show after new boss Chris Licht promised to clean up the network, according to Yashar Ali.
The media correspondent and host of Reliable Sources is the network’s first casualty after Licht took over in early 2022.
Stelter confirmed in a statement to NPR that he would be stepping down from the show, which he has hosted for the past nine years and which celebrated its 30th anniversary in March
He said he’s grateful for the show and his team’s investigation into “the media, the truth, and the stories that are shaping our world.”
Stelter added, “It’s been a rare privilege to headline a weekly show that’s focused on the press at a time when it’s never been more consequential,” promising to share more about the show’s final episode on Sunday to say.
CNN’s new boss, Chris Licht, is currently working to revive the scandal-hit network after several high-profile incidents and shared the news with Stelter yesterday.
Stelter was reportedly called into Licht’s office on Wednesday and, according to Puck News, left the office “ashen and refused to speak about the conversation.”
In a statement on Twitter, he said: “I picked a bad day to break the ABC rule – Always Be Charging. I was sightseeing in Midtown Manhattan with the kids and my cell phone is at 2%.
Critics called for Stelter to be fired earlier this year after he failed to report the “open secret” affair between former top boss Jeff Zucker and his associate Allison Gollust.
Brian Stelter, pictured, has become the first victim of new CNN boss Chris Licht after he failed to report the “open secret” affair between top boss Jeff Zucker and contributor Allison Gollust
Stelter confirmed the news in a statement, before joking on Twitter that he’d picked a “bad day” not to charge his phone
CNN’s new boss, Chris Licht, is currently working to revitalize the scandal-plagued network, with Stelter being the first to win the bid
Jeffrey Toobin returned to the air in June 2021 after an eight-month suspension but announced last week that he would not be returning after his furlough
Zucker resigned as CNN president in February for failing to disclose his relationship with Gollust when interviewed as part of the Chris Cuomo investigation.
He and Gollust claim the romance began during COVID, but media sources tell it happened well before the pandemic and was an open secret at CNN offices.
It comes just days after CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin announced he is leaving the network after 20 years.
The analyst was caught masturbating on a Zoom call with colleagues at New York magazine, only to be invited back by CNN’s disgraced ex-boss Jeff Zucker
Toobin has insisted he made the decision to quit himself – but speculation is mounting he was coerced by new boss Chris Licht.
The analyst was caught masturbating on a Zoom call with colleagues at New York magazine, only to be invited back by CNN’s disgraced ex-boss Jeff Zucker.
A source told : “Chris is really focused on CNN coming around the corner. He really listens to what people want and is not driven by his ego.
“He’s bringing CNN back into focus, he’s done away with the ridiculous Breaking News cut-ins and graphics that drove everyone crazy, and he knows no one will shed a tear over Toobin’s departure, especially the women of CNN. “
A cable news veteran, who asked not to be named, spoke of the close relationship between Stelter and Zucker.
“Brian Stelter should call his agent to look for another job,” they said. “He’s been Jeff Zucker’s water boy for years and no one thinks he didn’t know all that.”
Gollust and Zucker lived in the same apartment building with their respective families, worked together for more than 20 years at NBC and then CNN, and had what some call an “uncomfortably cozy” relationship.
Stelter was CNN’s senior media correspondent and host of the CNN show Reliable Sources before it was announced that the show was cancelled
Jeff Zucker and Allison Gollust at the Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden on November 5, 2021 with Don Lemon (right) and Fareed Zakaria (bottom left). Zucker resigned as President of CNN due to their romance and the fact that he lied about it when questioned in the Chris Cuomo investigation
They are both now divorced and a source told their split was partly due to their relationship.
Toobin was fired from The New Yorker after 27 years in November 2020 when he was caught masturbating on camera during a Zoom call with colleagues.
He claimed he didn’t realize his webcam was still on when he started masturbating.
CNN suspended him for eight months before welcoming him back – to the chagrin of many on the network.
Toobin said he decided to leave, but some within the company saw it as part of a broader move by new boss Chris Licht to clean up the network after scandals involving anchor Chris Cuomo and company president Jeff Zucker.
The source added: “He just needs to fix 9pm. We are all fired up for the talented and underrated Dana Bash to get this spot.
“You want a neutral journalist who speaks to both sides, he has to put Dana in.”
The 9 p.m. slot was previously held by Chris Cuomo, who saw his show Cuomo Prime Time canceled in late November after the anchor was dropped and then fired for telling his brother, the former New York governor , Andrew Cuomo, while being accused of sexual harassment.
The media correspondent and host of Reliable Sources is the network’s first casualty after Licht took over in early 2022.
Zucker with his ex-wife Caryn in 2011 (left) and Gollust with her ex-husband Billy (right) in 2008. The two have known each other and have been working together for 20 years, starting at ABC, and media sources say their affair was an “open secret”
In his first appearance back on the air, Toobin apologized to his wife, Amy McIntosh, and their three children
Chris was fired in December last year after an internal investigation found he helped his brother Andrew, the former New York governor, navigate a sexual misconduct scandal while still working as a CNN anchor.
He’s still fighting for $18 million – the remainder of his contract – but Zucker has refused to pay him off, citing the conflict of interest between Chris’ relationship with his brother and his reporting for CNN.
According to Politico’s sources, Cuomo’s team said it was hypocritical of Zucker to fire Chris over a conflict of interest when he has one of his own in his relationship with Gollust.
Since November, CNN has been testing several potential substitutes for the 9 p.m. show — including Jim Acosta, Laura Coates, Michael Smerconish and Sarah Sidner.
Appearing on shows across the network, Toobin said Friday he would miss his CNN peers.
His return to CNN a year ago, in June 2021, was accompanied by a flattering interview in which he apologized to his colleagues for his “deeply imbecile” behavior and said he was “incredibly grateful” to be back on the air could .