Brian Stelter Back at CNN Two Years After Network Fired Him

Longtime journalist Brian Stelter is returning to CNN two years after the cable news network canceled his show.

Stelter previously hosted CNN’s Reliable Sources from 2013 to 2022 before the network axed the show amid a company-wide shake-up led by then CEO Chris Licht. Despite being let go, Reliable Sources continued in newsletter form, authored by critic Oliver Darcy. However, Darcy announced his departure from CNN in August.

“Hello again, it’s Brian Stelter — yes, really,” Stelter wrote in Tuesday’s (September 3) edition of the Reliable Sources newsletter, where he confirmed his return to the network. “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.”

Stelter said his return to the company isn’t going to be “a Back to the Future remake,” noting, “The media industry has matured, CNN has evolved, and I have changed a lot since I signed off two years ago. 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.”

He revealed his official title is “Chief Media Analyst,” meaning he’ll be appearing “on air, developing digital content, and helming this newsletter. It will be different because I am different.”

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“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 added. “After 20+ years as a news junkie, I changed my habits and tuned out for a bit.”

He continued, “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 shares two children, seven-year-old Sunny and five-year-old Story, with his wife, NY1 anchor Jamie Shupak. He said of his time away from CNN, he “was incredibly lucky to have time as a stay-at-home dad.”

The official relaunch of Reliable Sources will kick off on Monday, September 9.