CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy left the network on Thursday to start his own independent media newsletter, he told The New York Times. The new start-up—titled “Status”—will make use of Darcy’s 10 years on the media beat as it covers media, tech, and Hollywood. “There will be no sugarcoating, no pulling punches, no sparing sensitive egos–just the unvarnished truth about the companies and individuals who shape our world,” Darcy wrote to subscribers just before 8 a.m. Thursday morning in an introductory email. Darcy’s exit, nearly two years after former colleague Brian Stelter was fired, came as a bit of a surprise, though a source familiar confirmed he was not laid off and instead declined a new contract. His “Reliable Sources” newsletter on Wednesday did not indicate he was leaving, and it noted that the newsletter would have its regular Thursday edition. The source said Darcy would send out a final newsletter on Thursday, and a CNN spokesperson confirmed the newsletter will go on hiatus and return in the fall. “Oliver has established himself as a tough but scrupulously fair leading voice in media reporting and commentary – never afraid to call it as he sees it,” CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement.
