CNN media reporter and commentator Oliver Darcy has left the struggling cable news network to launch his own newsletter.
Darcy, 33, announced Thursday that he was stepping down from his post at Reliable Source, a widely read media newsletter for Warner Bros. Discovery-owned networks, to launch Status, a subscription newsletter covering the same topics.
The move comes as CNN is in the midst of a major restructuring under CNN CEO Mark Thompson, who recently announced 100 job cuts.
A CNN representative said “Reliable Sources” will take a break for the summer but will return with new reporters in the fall.
Darcy told the Post that “Status” is her only endeavor for now.
“I don’t have a backer, it’s just me,” he said. “Paying readers will help strengthen my independent voice.”
“Status” subscriptions start at $15 per month or $150 per year, with an elite membership that comes with perks like private Zoom calls available for $595 per year. The New York Times Thursday.
The first issue is due to be published on Monday and will have a launch sponsor, though Darcy declined to reveal the name.
Darcy told the outlet that Status will cover a wide range of topics, from Silicon Valley to the presidential election to how artificial intelligence technology will impact news consumption.
“We’re trying to connect all those dots every night,” he said.
“My pitch to readers is that this is 100 percent independent opinion,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any other product out there that does exactly what we do.”
The newsletter will also have an ad sales partnership with The Ankler, a Hollywood coverage startup founded by Janice Min, the ambitious media veteran who once helmed The Hollywood Reporter and Us Weekly in their heydays.
Darcy’s “Status” joins a host of newsletters published by media outlets including Politico, Axios, PAC and Bloomberg. Unlike its competitors, CNN did not expand its “Trusted Sources” newsletter to live events, instead canceling its long-running, low-rated TV show of the same name in 2022.
The show was hosted by Brian Stelter, who launched the newsletter in 2015. Stelter was fired when the show was canceled, but Darcy took over the newsletter.
Darcy, who joined CNN in 2017, quickly became a voice for the media when he took over “Reliable Sources,” most notably in June 2023 when he was critical of the network under then-CEO Chris Licht, who had caused uproar among network correspondents who were uncomfortable with his judgment and leadership.
Licht was fired shortly after following a scathing critique in The Atlantic.
Darcy has also reported on his fair share of scoops, most recently exposing MSNBC’s decision to pull the plug on “Morning Joe” following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“Oliver has established a tough, yet extremely fair, leadership position in media reporting and commentary and is not afraid to voice his views,” CNN President Thompson said. “He has been a great leader for CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter and we wish him the best in his new entrepreneurial adventure.”
