Why was Brian Stelter, CNN’s star media reporter and host of its Dependable Sources present, pushed out of his job this week?
Inside and outdoors of CNN, there are two working theories.
However earlier than we get there, let’s speak about why we’re speaking about Brian Stelter: Sure, individuals in media care means an excessive amount of about different individuals in media. And media reporters — like me — are even guiltier of this. However on this case, what occurred to Stelter issues as a result of it might inform us so much about the way forward for CNN — one of many world’s strongest information shops — in addition to Warner Brothers Discovery, the corporate that owns CNN together with among the world’s most beneficial cultural belongings.
That’s the preamble. Listed below are the theories. Crucially, they don’t seem to be mutually unique.
It’s the politics, silly
That is the juicy one: On this model of occasions, Stelter is the sufferer of John Malone, the billionaire cable magnate and probably the most highly effective investor in Warner Brothers Discovery Inc., which now owns CNN and the remainder of what was referred to as Time Warner.
Malone’s politics lean fairly proper/libertarian, although he was additionally important of Donald Trump throughout his administration. Extra to the purpose: Present and former CNN staff consider Malone’s view of CNN is fully coloured by Fox Information. “John Malone doesn’t watch CNN. John Malone solely watches CNN through Fox Information,” says a CNN worker. “If I watched CNN through Fox Information, I might hate CNN too.”
And Stelter, who spent a lot of the Trump period criticizing the American proper’s embrace of disinformation, was already a goal of Fox Information hosts like Tucker Carlson, who delighted in lampooning him. Then, after Stelter’s boss, Jeff Zucker, was pushed out in February, Stelter went after Malone, who had mentioned he wished CNN was extra like Fox Information as a result of Fox Information had “precise journalism.”
Requested about this idea by the New York Occasions, Malone gave one of the candid admissions you’ll ever see a public particular person make within the guise of a denial: “Mr. Malone mentioned he needs “the ‘information’ portion of CNN to be extra centrist, however I’m not in management or straight concerned.”
Translation: Sure, this pleases me.
So on this idea, Malone believes Stelter represents the excesses of CNN’s protection. However presumably Malone and his managers — Warner Brothers Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Chris Licht, the manager Zaslav employed to interchange Zucker — will discover different CNN journalists they need off the air as properly. Alternate idea: They received’t must let go of anybody else as a result of they’ve made an instance of Stelter.
Then once more, perhaps they’ll must let go of lots of people due to idea No. 2:
It’s the cash, silly
As I wrote earlier this week, Warner Brothers Discovery has a heavy debt load, however Zaslav has instructed buyers that received’t matter, partially as a result of he’s going to search out $3 billion in financial savings.
We’ve already seen indicators of budget-cutting within the firm’s leisure properties — like shelving a Batgirl film as a substitute of releasing it and layoffs at HBOMax — however there will likely be many extra cuts to come back this fall. So Stelter, who reportedly made near $1 million a 12 months, was a simple lower: His present, alongside together with his day by day media publication, was a giant deal in media circles — see this “Pet of the Day” submission from … David Zaslav — however not an enormous draw for normals.
Underneath Zaslav/Licht, CNN has already made one important lower: Killing off CNN+, its brand-new streaming service, weeks after it launched (disclosure: My editor and I are producers on a present Vox Media made for CNN+).
However that might not be something near sufficient to assist the dad or mum firm hit its numbers. Through which case, Stelter’s departure might be the primary of many, and we’ll spend much less time worrying about CNN’s politics and extra time worrying about its skill to offer first-class information protection.
CNN says each of these theories are incorrect: It says Licht removed Stelter and Dependable Sources as a result of it needs completely different programming on Sunday mornings. And CNN spokesman Matt Dornic instructed me that the information service is underneath no strain from its new proprietor to cut back headcount, noting that Licht has mentioned he needs to rent extra journalists.
Then once more, there’s actually a technique to scale back prices whereas including individuals: You let go of high-priced individuals and exchange them with cheaper ones.
I hate saying “wait and see” on the finish of tales like this. However that is one the place we undoubtedly must see the way it performs out. For starters, Stelter’s final present is on Sunday. The one factor I’m certain about is that he needs to make use of his swan tune to speak about all of this.
