CNN media critic Brian Stelter has been a familiar face on the left-leaning cable news network for years.
Several times throughout the course of his career, however, he has faced criticism for letting his bias show through or simply seeming unconcerned with the accuracy of his reports.
The latter seemed to be at the heart of a recent newsletter blurb that resulted in serious backlash on social media.
According to the Daily Caller:
CNN host Brian Stelter and CNN media critic Brian Lowry took heat Sunday over an item in their “Reliable Sources” newsletter that criticized New York Times columnist Ross Douthat over a movie review.
Lowry wrote a brief blurb in the newsletter saying Douthat should “stop writing about movies.” Douthat’s bio on Twitter states he is a film critic for National Review.
A number of prominent conservatives pointed out that both Stelter and Lowry should have known that Douthat is a longtime movie critic.
Instead, both CNN figures attempted to portray him as nothing more than a right-wing pundit who tried his hand a writing a film review.
Truly amazing face-plant by Brian Lowry of CNN when he says @DouthatNYT should stick to politics and not write about film. Ross has been the film critic for National Review magazine for nearly 15 years. pic.twitter.com/ei87LtJaR5
— Kyle Smith (@rkylesmith) June 20, 2022
Brian Stelter is not just bad at TV, he's bad at his job. @JoeConchaTV @SteveKrak @BecketAdams and of course @HowardKurtz are all just definitively better at this beat. https://t.co/pEciC44Qf1
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) June 20, 2022
The latest misstep comes amid swirling rumors that Stelter’s days at CNN are numbered.
Brian Stelter getting fired will save CNN millions a year in catering alone.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) June 16, 2022
Considering his show’s miserable ratings, it’s no surprise that he appears to be on the short list of network personalities on their way out of the door.
Here’s what Fox News had to say about it:
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.
His knack for getting things wrong was on display this week when Joe Biden fell to the ground with a thud after attempting to dismount his bicycle.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Stelter made a point of praising the Democratic nominee’s ability to ride a two-wheeler.
Here’s a clip of his remarks:
This video of Brian Stelter praising Biden’s bike riding ability did not age well…
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) June 18, 2022
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