Former CNN host's welcome to Ivy League faculty contrasts with conservative appointments

Former CNN host Brian Stelter was named a Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after his show Reliable Sources was canceled. 

The announcement informed students that Stelter would be conducting “a series of discussions about threats to democracy and the range of potential responses from the news media.”

HKS touted Stelter’s experience at the New York Times as a media reporter and his record as a fellow at Georgetown University and an adjunct professor at New York University's Aurthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. 

Stelter’s nearly ten-year run with CNN as host of Reliable Sources was also mentioned. 

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“Brian Stelter is a nationally recognized media reporter and expert on the state of journalism and its wide-reaching implications for society and governance. Until August 2022 he was the anchor of “Reliable Sources,” which examined the week’s top media stories every Sunday on CNN, and the chief media correspondent for CNN Worldwide,” the announcement read. 

Reliable Sources aired its final episode on August 21, 2022, after CNN announced that it was canceling Reliable Sources and Stelter would be leaving the media outlet. HKS’ announcement regarding Stelter’s fellowship was made public on September 12.

Stelter’s harsh criticism of conservatives and right-wing media was well known throughout his career. 

The former anchor previously made headlines for his dismissal of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal as a “classic example of the right-wing media machine,” and for failing to report on CNN producer John Griffith’s arrest for sexual crimes against children.  

Stelter’s warm reception stands in contrast to public reactions when well-known conservative figures hold positions at ivy league institutions. 

Campus Reform previously reported on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a long-time faculty member at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., after he faced protests and opposition from students in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs. 

[RELATED: Former Harvard prof found guilty of hiding ties to university lab in Wuhan] 

Thomas eventually withdrew from co-teaching his regular seminar on Constitutional Law for the 2022 fall semester. 

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s virtual speech at George Mason University in Washington D.C. received protests as reported by Campus Reform. 

Protesters waved signs with slogans such as “Mandatory vasectomies. Come on guys, lets save lives!” and “they won't make a 12 year old wear a mask to school but they will force her to have a baby.”

The Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellowship was established in 2013 as a gift from former Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Chairman Doug Shorenstein in honor of his late father. Previous Fellows include former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler and Latino USA executive producer Maria Hinojosa. 

Campus Reform contacted Stelter, Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Crimson Student Newspaper President Raquel Uribe for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.