In 2004, college student Brian Stelter launched TVNewser. He’s been covering the industry ever since, and recently celebrated his 20th anniversary in the business.
In a thread on X, Stelter relived his launch from CableNewser to TVNewser in July 2004, noting that the website “was the perfect college job and the launch pad for my career.”
Stelter shared his belief that “no one would take me seriously if they knew I was a college freshman,” before adding that. “I couldn’t stay anonymous for long. It was hard to communicate with sources. And it just didn’t feel right. I remember visiting the Bush-era White House, on a class trip with one of my professors, and noticing all the TVs tuned to Fox. I wanted to post about it but couldn’t.”
He added that his identity was revealed in a story with The New York Times in May of that. He shared that cable news presidents and anchors were reaching out to send tips in about their networks and careers by that time.
A 2006 story with The Times shared a joke from NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams joking that when the site run by Brian Stelter was dormant, “the kid had a final or a big family dinner that he couldn’t get out of,” before noting how everyone in the industry read his website.
Most widely known for his time at CNN, Brian Stelter currently serves as a special correspondent at Vanity Fair and hosts a podcast called Inside the Hive.
Stelter concluded his thread by stating that Twenty years from now, it might not be called “TV” anymore, but many forms of video news will still be thriving, and we’ll still need a “newser.”
TVNewser continues today — despite the lack of involvement from Brian Stelter — as a vertical for AdWeek.
