Brian Stelter Is Returning to CNN After He Was Fired Two Years Earlier

In a surprise turn of events, media personality Brian Stelter announced in the Reliable Sources newsletter that he would return to CNN in September 2024 after he was fired in April 2022. He and CNN parted ways when the station was making some pivots and changes in an era of turmoil and low ratings.

However, in Brian’s time off, he “changed a lot” and is re-joining CNN in a “brand new role as Chief Media Analyst,” which he explained means that he’ll be on air in addition to “developing digital content and helming [the Reliable Sources] newsletter.” But why did he leave CNN in the first place?

Everyone knows that the Donald Trump and COVID-19 era of media was one of the most chaotic. Various outlets had no idea how to handle controversial news and whether to appeal to opinionated audiences or cater to the masses. When CNN forced out the previous CEO, Jeff Zucker, after violating corporate rules by not disclosing his romantic relationship with another executive, they brought in Chris Licht.

Chris had less experience and had never run a network, coming in from executive producing CBS’s The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, CBS This Morning, and NBC’s Morning Joe. His big project was relaunching CNN This Morning with Don Lemon, who was ousted shortly after it relaunched because of a history of controversial comments.

Chris’s other big goal was making CNN more palatable to more centrist and right-leaning voters. His emphasis was on sharing “facts” instead of “opinions” to try to raise ratings after they dipped following Trump’s presidency. At the time, Brian’s left-leaning public views became a concern for the network, especially when his show, Reliable Sources, faced its worst ratings in three years.

Due to the CEO shakeup, CNN went through a series of layoffs. At the time, Axios reported on the shift, predicting Brian’s exit from the network. “To conservative critics, some on-air personalities, like Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter, have become the face of the network’s liberal shift,” they wrote.

Others suspected that because Brian also wrote the 2020 politicized book, Hoax, he was let go from his long-running tenure on the network when they decided to cancel Reliable Sources after 30 years on the air. “As a result, Brian Stelter will leave the company,” a CNN spokesperson told CNN Business at the time. “We appreciate his contributions to the network and wish him well as he embarks on new endeavors.”

Brian took some much-needed time off, spent some time with his family, and “experienced news more like an everyday consumer.” He continued appearing on various media outlets, including on CNN, and seemed to maintain a positive relationship with the network.

In 2023, after a scathing profile in The Atlantic, Chris stepped down as the CNN CEO. This paved the way for Brian’s 2024 return. Oliver Darcey took over the Reliable Sources newsletter, but when he announced he’d be moving on to work on Status, it only felt right to give the job back to Brian. But don’t worry — in his words, it won’t “be a Back to the Future remake.”