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Outspoken liberal CNN host Brian Stelter could be gone soon.
Sources have confirmed to Jon Nicosia that Stelter is “down to weeks if not days” left at CNN. “He is everything that reminds the new owners of the Zucker era they desperately want to get past,” the source added.
“Management is confident Stelter is the one sharing the internal pushback to fellow media reporters while simultaneously stirring discontent within the ranks,” the source said.
SOURCE: Stelter is "down to weeks if not days" left at CNN. They go on "He is everything that reminds the new owners of the Zucker era they desperately want to get past" – More to come.
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) June 15, 2022
They continue: "Management is confident Stelter is the one sharing the internal pushback to fellow media reporters while simultaneously stirring discontent within the ranks"
— Jon Nicosia (@NewsPolitics) June 15, 2022
In June, CNN’s “Reliable Sources” had its lowest-rated episode since September 2019 with only 580,000 viewers. The show has regularly struggled to capture the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54. The show only averages 73,000 viewers from this age group.
Before Stelter’s show was launched, its predecessor “Fareed Zakaria GPS” generated 13% more views than “Reliable Sources.”
Incoming CEO Chris Licht of CNN signaled that he is making major waves against blatant bias, anti-Trump personalities like Stelter.
Licht is demanding that the liberal network become less partisan and stir away from the angry years seen during the presidency of Donald Trump.
If both on-air personalities and their programming doesn’t comply, they could be fired. Three sources familiar with the matter confirmed to Axios that on-air talent needs to adjust to a less partisan tone and strategy. If not, they could be ousted.
Licht reportedly wants to feature more personalities that are less polarizing. This approach is much different than former CNN president Jeff Zucker.
Zucker was accused of programming that engaged in disrespectful interviews and “PR stunts.” Under Zucker, producers and bookers focused less on nuance and mostly on noise.
More on this story via Fox News:
An Axios report cited “three sources familiar with the matter” who said Licht is evaluating if staffers can adjust to the less polemic approach, and anyone who doesn’t fall in line “could be ousted” so they don’t continue to hurt CNN’s reputation. Licht is reviewing the operations of the entire network in the early weeks of his tenure.
“To conservative critics, some on-air personalities, like Jim Acosta and Brian Stelter, have become the face of the network’s liberal shift,” Axios’ Sara Fischer wrote.
A CNN insider said Fischer simply noted Stelter and Acosta are targeted by the right, and they weren’t identified as being on the chopping block. However, Stelter’s partisan approach is thought to be the opposite of what Licht envisions CNN to look like once he puts his stamp on the network.
CNN pulled the plug on CNN+ in April, only weeks after the costly streaming service was launched. Stelter’s daily version of “Reliable Sources” was among the shows canceled as a result of CNN+ being dropped.
