Stelter’s Farewell: “The Free World Needs a Reliable Source”

BUCK: We had told you that this is gonna be so sad. But here we are. Brian Stelter. (impression) “He had a good run as the hall monitor of the mainstream media. He would do entire shows when he would basically say, ‘Wow. Fox News and talk radio are terrible, but I’m just here speaking the truth!'” That was Stelter’s whole thing was to just try to attack other sources of information than what are regime approved by the Democrats, and I am  just gonna say this. A lot of people were surprised this guy had a television show. He doesn’t really seem like somebody who would be front of the line to be on TV. I am just saying, the guy doesn’t seem like a TV talent to most folks. “But there he was on Sunday,” and here was how he closed, Clay, his last show. Play it.

STELTER: I believe America needs CNN to be strong. I believe the Free World needs CNN to be strong. And it will continue to be, ’cause all of us are gonna help make that happen. The Free World needs a reliable source. So, for Reliable Sources, for the last time, I’m Brian Stelter. Thanks for being with us.

BUCK: (choking up) The Free World needs a reliable source,” Clay.

CLAY: I’m not an expert on CNN, and I really don’t spend that much time watching television other than sports, which I watch, obviously, a lot. But I don’t… It’s not like I sit around and watch CNN. He did a show once a week. Is that kind of all he did, Buck? Like, how often he was on CNN otherwise?

BUCK: No, he was a general media critic for them. So, he would appear on other shows. But there’s a whole career path at these news networks where you’re supposed to be talking about the media. But all they’re actually doing is attacking conservative media.

CLAY: Right.

BUCK: They exist to say that people like you and me are, you know, spreading misinformation, you know. Brian Stelter supposed to be the little blanky that all of the libs can hold onto to make them believe that they were getting true facts.

CLAY: Well, we said on Friday — and I’m still a little bit shook by it — that Stephen King tweeted that the only thing he wanted to watch was Reliable Sources. The author Stephen King. I really have never heard anybody say, “Oh, I’m a big Brian Stelter fan,” ever before, right? I understand you might not like Rachel Maddow back in the day, only on one day a week now, but certainly it doesn’t surprise me that Rachel Maddow would have friends or —

BUCK: I know why libs watch Rachel Maddow. I get that for sure.

CLAY: Yeah, and I don’t think John Oliver’s show is very good. But I’ve heard people be like, “Oh, I love John Oliver’s show,” and certainly back in the day, people loved Jon Stewart’s show. I don’t know that anybody — maybe just Stephen King — is actually that interested in watching anything Stelter does. Certainly, they weren’t at CNN or he’d still have a job.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

CLAY: I did want to play this too, Buck. We were just talking about Brian Stelter’s Reliable Sources show ending. It did not go out with the guest going after the new owner effectively of the CNN network, John Malone, who has come out and said basically that he thinks CNN got far too left-wing. Stelter had to be a victim. Here’s one of his final guests saying this.

CLAY: So there you go, going after the owner of CNN on his way out.