Brian Stelter remains defiant as final 'Reliable Sources' doubles down on what critics say got it canceled

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Brian Stelter says goodbye to CNN media show 'Reliable Sources'

Brian Stelter hosted the final episode of CNN's media show "Reliable Sources" on Sunday.

Brian Stelter ended his stint as host of "Reliable Sources" by doubling down on its years-long formula critics believe led to the decision from new CNN boss Chris Licht to cancel the show.

It was reported earlier this summer that Stelter was among the CNN stars that became "the face of the network's liberal shift" in the eyes of conservatives.

But in his departing monologue, Stelter remained defiant. 

"I know I didn't have all the answers, I didn't even always have all the right questions… Here's what I do know. I know it's not partisan to stand up for decency and democracy and dialogue," Stelter told CNN viewers on Sunday. "It's not partisan to stand up to demagogues. It's required, it's patriotic. We must make sure we don't give a platform 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's going on in this country and in this world."

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Except Stelter's final "Reliable Sources" did not represent the "full spectrum of debate" as his line-up of guests was almost exclusively made up of liberal Trump critics who continued to bash the former president with no conservatives or moderates to push back.

Brian Stelter hosted his final "Reliable Sources" Sunday on CNN.  (Screenshot/CNN/ReliableSources)

Veteran journalist and CNN political analyst Carl Bernstein, who famously declared every episode of the Trump presidency was "worse than Watergate," referred to Trump as a "criminal" and a "serial liar," sounding the alarm about the "authoritarianism" he brought against democracy and inspired on a state level. 

The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg also suggested Trump was an authoritarian for his repeated attacks against the media being "the enemy of the people." He later defended his magazine's coverage of calling Trump "racist" and using the term "lie" to describe his various claims. 

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NPR TV critic Eric Deggans railed against Trump for denying the results of the 2020 election and "blaming" migrants for America's ills. He also warned CNN that going forward it should not provide "false equivalence," suggesting the "extremism" of Republicans should not be compared to the "regular dysfunction" of Democrats.

Among other anti-Trump critics invited onto the show include CNN analyst David Zurawik, who earlier this year exclaimed that Trump had "opened the gates of Hell," and White House columnist Brian Karem, who was one of the overly hostile journalists covering the Trump presidency. 

CNN analyst Carl Bernstein continued bashing former President Trump in an exchange with host Brian Stelter on the final installment of "Reliable Sources." (CNN)

Much of the final broadcast whitewashed the coverage of "Reliable Sources" and CNN broadly. 

Bernstein went to bat for ousted CNN president Jeff Zucker, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, saying both have been "committed to understanding what good journalism is" when discussing how rare it is that a "good editor or a good news organization turns down a good story." Except Zucker was caught spiking the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 presidential election, according to audiotapes obtained by Project Veritas. 

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There was very little mention of why "Reliable Sources" was canceled except for a panel discussion that briefly speculated whether Warner Bros. Discovery board member John Malone, who was a vocal critic of CNN's partisan evolution, had anything to do with CNN firing Stelter. Insider media correspondent Claire Atkinson acknowledged how Malone wanted to bring CNN "back to the center" rather than solely competing with MSNBC for liberal viewers. 

Brian Stelter previously criticized Liberty Media chairman John Malone for saying CNN should "actually have journalists." (Getty Images)

In his opening remarks, Stelter touted how his show "punched above its weight" and was one of CNN's "highest-rated weekend shows," without acknowledging "Reliable Sources" shed a huge swath of his audience since Trump left office and how his viewership was less than half of the viewership of Fox News' "MediaBuzz" in the same time slot. 

Stelter, who hosted the program since 2013, then highlighted comments made by former CNN CEO Tom Johnson said in reaction to the cancellation of "Reliable Sources," which he said was founded 30 years ago because CNN founder Ted Turner and network leaders "felt very deeply that media organizations have a responsibility to report and to evaluate the journalism profession itself."  

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"Founding host Bernard Kalb and founding executive producer Rick Davis said this program was meant to be a critical lens on the media-such a special phrase, ‘a critical lens on the media,’" Stelter told viewers. 

Except Stelter had built a reputation among his critics as being the media's "hall monitor" for the unflinching defense of his liberal allies in the industry. Earlier this year, Stelter defended the media collectively dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020, suggesting critics don't know "how newsrooms work." 

Brian Stelter was fired by new CNN boss Chris Licht and his program "Reliable Sources" was canceled. (CNN)

Additionally, Stelter routinely avoided mentioning controversies that portrayed the media in a negative light. In 2019, he omitted ABC News' spiking of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal it had a scoop on from the year's "top media stories." Last year, he ignored at least 20 major media stories on "Reliable Sources" including Meghan McCain's dramatic exit from "The View" and how a judge banned MSNBC was from the Kyle Rittenhouse trial after police caught a freelance NBC News producer following the jury bus. 

Before concluding his final moments on CNN, Stelter thanked his team, his family, Jeff Zucker for hiring him and even Chris Licht, the man who ultimately fired him, for "letting us say goodbye." Stelter went on to say that he will continue to "root" for CNN in the future.

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"MediaBuzz" host Howard Kurtz, who previously hosted CNN's "Reliable Sources" before joining Fox News, addressed the cancellation of the show he once helmed. 

"Chris Licht, the new president of CNN made clear when he took over in the spring that he wanted less extreme partisanship on the network, a returned to its roots. And that makes sense. The problem is after six years of bitterly anti-Trump and relentlessly anti-Fox programming, CNN had surrendered that reputation, and it had plenty of company in the business. Then the sugar-high of Trump-driven ratings wore off with the former president's departure," Kurtz said on Sunday. "I helped build ['Reliable Sources'] and I was very proud of being fair to conservatives, liberals, independents and everyone else. It was a different era at CNN. Now everybody makes mistakes, including me, but fairness is the brand that I brought here, where there are also very strong opinions from commentators as well as many journalists who tried their best to play it straight. 

He told Fox News viewers, "In this hyper-polarized era… not everyone wants balance. They just want you to be on their team. But I believe we've shown there's a loyal audience that craves fairness over partisanship. So now, there's only one media analysis program on national television, and you're watching it."