CNN’s ‘Reliable Sources’ with Brian Stelter draws smallest audience since 2019

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Media coverage of Kavanaugh threat slips away

Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz discusses how coverage of a gunman’s attempt to murder Justice Kavanaugh has been drowned out over coverage of Jan. 6 hearings on ‘Special Report.’

CNN’s "Reliable Sources" with left-wing host Brian Stelter had its lowest-rated episode since September 2019 on Sunday when only 580,000 viewers tuned into the struggling program. 

"Reliable Sources" also struggled in the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults age 25-54, averaging only 73,000 viewers from the critical category. Stelter’s program shed 13% of the total audience who tuned into the show that precedes it, "Fareed Zakaria GPS," and lost 25% of Zakaria’s viewers among the demo. It was Stelter’s smallest audience since Sept. 15, 2019. 

Stelter's media affairs program turned a blind eye to the jarring lack of coverage the press gave to the aborted assassination attempt of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The New York Times, ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN were all criticized by conservatives for downplaying or ignoring the alarming incident, but Stelter paid the story no heed.

CNN’s "Reliable Sources" with left-wing host Brian Stelter had its lowest-rated episode since September 2019 on Sunday when only 580,000 viewers tuned in. (Kevin Mazur)

The Sunday morning news shows, which are known for recapping the week, gave Kavanaugh the snub as ABC's "This Week," CBS' "Face the Nation," NBC's "Meet the Press" and CNN's "State of the Union" also completely avoided the subject, instead heavily focusing on the Jan. 6 committee hearings.

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Stelter made no mention of the bizarre lack of coverage surrounding the threat to Kavanaugh. 

"MediaBuzz," which airs at the same time on Fox News, averaged 1.4 million total viewers and 189,000 among the demo to crush "Reliable Sources" in both categories.

Last week, Stelter and CNN colleague Jim Acosta were singled out as the "face of the network's liberal shift" in the eyes of conservatives. Recently appointed CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht previously informed staffers he would "double down on what's working well and quickly eliminate what's not," and there have since been lingering questions about what programs or personalities would be eliminated. 

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Brian Stelter and CNN colleague Jim Acosta were recently signaled out as the "face of the network's liberal shift" in the eyes of conservatives. ((AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CNN)

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. 

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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 chairman and CEO Chris Licht. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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.

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Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.