CNN is still cleaning house as new leadership continues to restructure the company to make it a bit more balanced in its coverage of the news. We’ve seen a number of firings over the last few months in service of this project. Brian Stelter, host of “Reliable Sources,” was fired just a few weeks ago. Now there’s another casualty to add to the list.
According to the Daily Wire, CNN White House correspondent John Harwood has been handed his pink slip. Harwood announced his being let go from the company Friday on Twitter. In his post, Harwood noted that he was proud of the work he had done at the network and issued a thank you to his co-workers. The now fired correspondent added that he “looks forward to figuring out what’s next.”
personal news:
today’s my last day at CNN
proud of the work
thanks to my colleagues
i’ve been lucky to serve the best in American media – St. Petersburg Times, WSJ, NYT, the NBC family, CNN
look forward to figuring out what’s next
— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) September 2, 2022
Here’s a few more details from the Daily Wire report:
Harwood’s departure comes weeks after former CNN “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter recorded his last show and exited the network. Stelter’s exit reportedly came at the behest of CNN chief Chris Licht, who took over the network in February after Jeff Zucker’s exit. Licht has reportedly been driving CNN toward adopting a more nonpartisan stance in its news coverage.
Harwood joined CNN in January 2020 after a stint at CNBC. In his previously role as editor-at-large for CNBC, where he played a central role in the outlet’s election coverage.
Harwood’s professionalism and partisanship came under fire after he moderated a Republican primary debate in 2015 for CNBC. Harwood’s performance reportedly left the newsroom split on whether it was a good look for the network.
An insider within the network went on to tell TheWrap that, “Everyone in the newsroom knows he’s extremely far-left.” The insider then stated that knowledge concerning Harwood’s political beliefs was well known before the debate took place.
The insider stated that Harwood is “not just extremely biased and partisan, but he’s the worst kind who isn’t self-aware that he is.”
“Harwood’s conduct during the debate played a major role in the Republican National Committee’s decision afterward to suspend its debate agreement with NBC News,” the report from the Daily Wire revealed.
“While debates are meant to include tough questions and contrast candidates’ visions and policies for the future of America, CNBC’s moderators engaged in a series of ‘gotcha’ questions, petty and mean-spirited in tone, and designed to embarrass our candidates,” then-RNC Chairman Reince Priebus commented during that time.
After the debate, the infamous Clinton emails leaked out to the public, revealing that Harwood had actually contacted Hillary’s campaign concerning what kind of questions he should ask her GOP opponents. “What should I ask Jeb?” he went on to ask John Podesta, who was working as the campaign chair for Clinton, in an email from September 2015.
It’s been a long, long time since CNN has been considered an actual, legitimate trustworthy news source dedicated to journalistic integrity and providing viewers and readers with information that would enable them to make their own decisions on issues of the day. We could be seeing Warner Bros./Discovery trying to resurrect the network in this manner. That would be fantastic. If it’s even possible.
One thing’s for sure. A lot more people need to be fired before that kind of vision can become a reality.