As CNN attempts to clean itself up after an ownership change, one of the bigger partisan hacks is out of a job after today. Brian Stelter, host of “Reliable Sources” and Fox News mega-fan, officially signed off today after being told last Thursday that he was being let go.

Pour one out for Tater today, everyone. In his honor, make sure it’s vodka.

As anyone who has read this blog or kept up in conservative media knows, Brian Stelter has been one of the least impartial and most arrogant media talking heads on television. The problem wasn’t his impartiality – it was that he was always convinced that he WAS totally impartial and fair. His obliviousness, combined with a far-too-large ego, led him to do things like kiss Michael Avenatti’s ass because Orange Man Bad (something he tried denying later), praising Beto O’Rourke because Orange Man Bad, claiming Fox News should be suppressed as “harm reduction,” not censorship, because Orange Man Bad, and then covering up Jeff Zucker’s many sins because Zucker let Brian Stelter have a show that allowed him to say “Orange Man Bad” all the time. Anyone else see a pattern?

Well, after Thursday’s news, Brian Stelter was determined to go out swinging today for his last show. And he was going to make sure EVERYONE knew it. Because this final show was apparently about how awesome he and this show was. Nothing like taking a little time to reflect on how you have influenced future journalists with your stellar example, and bask in the glory of other media figures stroking your ego.

During Stelter’s opening remarks he said that (new CNN head Chris) Licht was making big changes to CNN and that he was sad that he wouldn’t be around to cover it. He was joined by Carl Bernstein, among several others, for his final appearance.”

The former CNN host added during his final words that the media “is the people.”

“That is the watch word here. Accountability,” Stelter said. “We need to have room for media criticism and debate and discussion, and we will. So much of the media ecosystem in 2022 is garbage, but so much of it is spectacular. The hard part is sorting out the treasure from the trash. These are thorny complicated things. I know I never had all the answers. I didn’t even always have all the questions. But it was the gift of a lifetime to get to confront these issues on international division with the backing of CNN.”

But Brian Stelter wasn’t shy about where his loyalties were.

“Thank you to Jeff Zucker for believing in me, for having the back of this organization for so many years, for having my back through everything, even through the death threats,” Stelter said.”

Well, Brian Stelter certainly was Zucker’s wingman while Zucker was carrying on an affair with CNN’s vice president. Strange, someone so devoted to “accountability” would have just let that one slip! *cough*

But never fear, there is always time for Brian Stelter to whine about how underappreciated he has been, complain about the Bad Orange Man one more time, and let his guests sigh heavily about the loss of the show where they could always get their weekly dopamine hit.

CNN's Brian Stelter decries outside criticism of journalism as a "poisonous cloud" that's spread throughout the country and around the world.

He adds he's "proud" to have worked at a network when they knew they had to fight and attack Trump.

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 21, 2022

They then decried how the general public is allowed to become media critics.

I know, I know — the HORROR!

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 21, 2022

And now we have Stelter's panel BASHING CNN's new leadership and Discovery executives for axing Brian and wanting CNN to be centrist.

Amazing.

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 21, 2022

Let’s be honest about why Brian Stelter is out of a job. CNN’s ratings as a whole are in the toilet post-Trump. He was their meal ticket, and now they don’t know how to cover news without him leading it. That’s why the media has been so desperate to keep January 6th front and center, even though the American public has moved on. It has been their backdoor excuse to do two things: call everyone on the right side of the aisle insurrectionists, and keep talking about Donald Trump. If the ratings had stayed high, then Stelter would have been able to justify his show’s approach and his own salary. But they didn’t. Zucker’s dirty laundry meant that Brian Stelter no longer had his protection, and the new guy in charge, Chris Licht, would like to actually get an audience back.

The rumored end of Brian Stelter has been in the air for a while, but probably crystallized into an inevitability with the complete failure of CNN+. The word is that no one at CNN should feel like their job is safe. If the new management means it when they say they want to pivot back to hard news, then getting rid of those who have proved themselves too partisan to gain viewers back is merely the first step. We shall see just how much the new boss means what he says, and probably sooner rather than later.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click