“Reliable Sources”? In Defense Of Brian Stelter

With his trademark “rotate and lean” pose, the pure gravity of his tone is practically self-satirizing.

Following the downfall of several high-profile CNN figures — including Chris “Fredo” Cuomo and former CNN president Jeff Zucker — the Twitter rumor mill has churned out another figure who might soon be on the chopping block in the land of the “most trusted name in news” — Brian Stelter, the host of the most ironically-named show in history, “Reliable Sources.”

Now, whispers that Stelter might soon be thrown out of CNN aren’t overly surprising. Based on the latest reports, “Reliable Sources” had its “lowest-rated episode since September 2019,” logging just 580,000 viewers last Sunday, and averaging just 73,000 in the critical 25-54 year-old category.

And this decline has been steady — in March 2021, Townhall.com reported that “Reliable Sources” had “failed to reach over a million viewers for the second time in as many weeks, while also boasting its second-lowest viewership of the year for its key demographic of 25 to 54 year-olds.”

The reason for this is fairly obvious, given that the mainstream media has struggled to redefine itself in the post-Trump world. In the months that followed Joe Biden’s electoral victory, Stelter tried — unsuccessfully — to pivot his focus. He tried to present Tucker Carlson as “the new Donald Trump,” and helped white-wash the Biden presidential campaign’s anti-vaccine rhetoric by questioning why Fox anchors weren’t sharing their “vaccine selfies,” all while Fox News became his primary focus — if not obsession.

The problem? No-one cares.

Brian Stelter @brianstelter

Tucker Carlson is the new Donald Trump. Tucker has taken Trump's place as a right-wing leader, an outrage generator, a fire-starter...

Now, many are celebrating the continued downfall of Stelter for a variety of reasons — whether motivated by varying degrees of disdain for CNN and the mainstream media, or for Stelter himself — fueled further by social media’s habit of descending into personal attacks.

In Stelter’s case, personal attacks regarding his supposed likeness to a potato.

But — and please bear with me — I want to defend Stelter…at least a little bit.