CNN won't discipline Chris Cuomo for strategy calls with brother's staff about sexual harassment scandal
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CNN won't discipline Chris Cuomo for strategy calls with brother's staff about sexual harassment scandal
May 20, 2021
CNN is acknowledging it was "inappropriate" for its anchor Chris Cuomo to advise his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), on how to handle his sexual harassment scandal.
The CNN host took part in a series of strategy calls earlier this year focused on how to respond after the New York governor faced allegations of sexual harassment, The Washington Post revealed on Thursday. These calls reportedly included the governor's top aide, communications team, lawyers, and advisers, and the CNN anchor urged his brother not to resign while citing "cancel culture," the Post says.
Chris Cuomo hosts a nightly show on CNN, and he said in March he could "obviously" not cover his brother's scandal on the air, though CNN would continue to do so. But Cuomo taking part in these advisory calls "cuts against the widely accepted norm in journalism that those reporting the news should not be involved in politics," the Post wrote, with Columbia Journalism School professor Nicholas Lemann saying, "If you are actively advising a politician in trouble while being an on-air host on a news network, that's not okay."
CNN in a statement to the Post confirmed that Cuomo, who "often serves as a sounding board for his brother," participated in these calls and said doing so was "inappropriate" but that he won't be disciplined.
"It was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the governor's staff, which Chris acknowledges," CNN said. "He will not participate in such conversations going forward."
CNN previously faced criticism for allowing Chris Cuomo to interview his brother numerous times on the air early on during the COVID-19 pandemic last year. The network has said it "made an exception to a rule that we have had in place since 2013 which prevents Chris from interviewing his brother" during this time but that this rule has since been reimposed. Brendan Morrow
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I look at Chris Cuomo as entertainment rather than news.
The difference between him and a Hannity or Tucker Carlson is that Cuomo is often right on the facts and the issues and Fox News personalities rarely are.
But it's all show business in a sense.
Chris Cuomo is a showboat just like his brother the governor is .
The difference is CNN bills Cuomo as a journalist and a news anchor.
Hannity is, per fox, "Hannity is one of the most prominent and influential conservative voices in the country."
Cuomo is a partisan pundit masquerading as a journalist, Hannity is a partisan pundit who is advertised as a partisan pundit.
Chris was correct to not cover his brother's scandal on air.
From there it becomes a choice of my career, or my brother. As yourself..... "How far into an detrimental ethical decision would you go when your family was involved?"
Pay a fine, make an a non-apology apology on air..... Chris needs to be disciplined, but what should the nature of it be.... Lose his show.... possibly.
Chris Cuomo could have given his brother advice on the scandal without taking part in a conference call there would be a record of and in doing so make himself a quasi official consultant to the governor.
Undoubtedly there is a whiff of arrogance in this.
But why? I can understand it if he covered the stories about his brother, but since he did not there is no conflict of interest.
It's his brother, so of course he wanted to help him, but he did not use his position on CNN as a pulpit and avoided the stories onscreen.
I dont think it is a fireable offense but it was arrogant. Whatever advice he had for his brother could have been given in private.
Liberals seem reluctant to criticize the Cuomo Crime Family siblings.
And no, neither CNN nor MSNBC come anywhere close to reporting factual truth.
Is it worse than when Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham appeared on stage at a Trump campaign rally ?
So many republicans wouldn't admit to knowing the truth if it was biting them on the ass..... which it usually is