Brian Stelter’s previous exit from CNN now seems to have been a temporary hiatus.
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Stelter, who departed CNN in August 2022 after the cancellation of his Reliable Sources series, announced on Tuesday that he’ll be returning to the cabler in the role of chief media analyst.
“The media industry has matured, CNN has evolved, and I have changed a lot since I signed off two years ago,” Stelter wrote to subscribers of CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter, which he founded in 2015. “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,” Stelter continued. “After 20-plus years as a news junkie, I changed my habits and tuned out for a bit… 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.”
Stelter did not share when his first on-camera CNN appearance might be, but confirmed that he will once again author the Reliable Sources newsletter beginning Monday, Sept. 9. He takes back the baton from Oliver Darcy, who penned Reliable Sources after Stelter’s departure from CNN, but has since also left the network.
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News of Stelter’s return to CNN comes almost exactly two years after his initial exit, which coincided with the axing of his Reliable Sources series . During the final episode, which aired on Aug. 21 of that year, Stelter capped his nine-year run at CNN by warning viewers and fellow journalists of the threats that media and democracy would continue to face.
“I know it’s not partisan to stand up for decency and democracy and dialogue,” he said at the time . “It’s not partisan to stand up to demagogues. It’s required. It’s patriotic. We must make sure we don’t give platforms to those who are lying to our faces. But we also must make sure we are representing the full spectrum of debate and representing what is going on in this country and this world.”
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