The ex-CNN host Brian Stelter was recently fired, but was John Malone to blame? Some of CNN’s staffers fear that billionare and board member Malone is dictating the network’s agenda. One guest floated the notion to Stelter, who said he did not know if Malone was involved. Stelter has not commented publicly on the speculation about Malone’s role in the firing.
Brian Stelter’s departure from Reliable Sources
There has been a lot of speculation about why CNN fired Brian Stelter, who had been a media figure for years. CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery had been concerned over Stelter’s and CNN’s partisan turn. However, Stelter said he would return to his “bipartisan roots,” so why did the network fire him?
CNN CEO Chris Licht has said that Stelter’s departure was not related to Malone. He believes that Stelter’s departure reflects the excesses of the network and wants to return it to a more neutral place. Malone also wants CNN to focus on the media’s broader demographic.
His career
Many people speculated that CNN was responsible for firing Stelter, but a panel of media insiders suggested otherwise. Malone, a media mogul who is a top shareholder of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, is a frequent critic of the network’s increasingly partisan tone. However, Atkinson said that John Malone wanted to bring CNN more to the center, so it can have a broader appeal.
John Malone’s involvement
It is not clear whether John Malone’s remarks were involved in the firing of Brian Stelter. While CNN is a partisan news outlet, Malone denied any involvement in Stelter’s firing. He did admit that he had hoped to make the network less partisan and increase ratings. Stelter’s ratings were very low, and CNN is already suffering as a result.
The media mogul is a major shareholder of Discovery. The company’s standard business conduct requires all shareholders to disclose their relationships, including their stakes in CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. However, the company has not yet responded to the request for comment. Several sources have speculated that Malone was responsible for Stelter’s firing, but CNN has not made any official statement.