Type keyword(s) to search

TV TATTLE

Chris Cuomo will face an "uncomfortable spotlight" when he returns to CNN from vacation on Monday

  • "Fresh off celebrating his 51st birthday, Chris Cuomo is scheduled to return from a week-long vacation and host his prime-time CNN show on Monday night, just as he has for the past three years," says Jeremy Barr. "But Cuomo’s world has changed since he went on vacation. His older brother, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, announced his resignation Tuesday in the wake of a state investigation that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women. The younger Cuomo — who interviewed his brother six times last year and called him “the best politician in the country” — has since been instructed by CNN not to discuss what may be the biggest political scandal in the country now. Chris Cuomo’s critics wonder whether his relationship with his brother has undermined his objectivity as a journalist in a way that will color the perception of him going forward. Cuomo is a garrulous and lively host, with energy running over, but part of his TV appeal has always been rooted in his membership in a political dynasty — like the late Sen. John McCain’s daughter Meghan McCain, who recently stepped down as co-host of The View. He is not only the brother of a New York governor, but the son of one, too — Mario Cuomo, who died several years ago...But the Cuomo family legacy, once etched proudly into the history of the Democratic Party, is now tainted."

    ALSO:

    • CNN must apologize for the Chris Cuomo debacle and he should resign: "CNN and Chris Cuomo may—and certainly will—suggest that this is a onetime lapse of judgment and that a sense of probity will reassert itself when Chris returns to covering those who are not members of his family. But Chris’s involvement goes beyond incidental brotherly advice," says Alex Shephard. "Cuomo reportedly advised his brother to take a 'defiant' position in response to the allegations and suggested he use the phrase 'cancel culture.' That goes well beyond being 'looped into' a few calls. His participation in discussions of how the governor of New York responded to sexual harassment allegations undercuts his ability to adequately cover sexual harassment allegations in politics, full stop. It may very well undercut his ability to cover politics, as well: For as long as he is discussing politics on CNN, the subjects of his scrutiny will be able to throw this sordid episode back in his face, and they will. The charges of journalistic malpractice, moreover, will accrue to CNN’s other anchors and journalists, however unfairly that may be. It is hard to say how the network continues with him, unless it is prepared to exist in a perpetual state of mini-scandal. Chris Cuomo certainly deserves blame—and, at the very least, a long suspension—for advising his brother. But CNN’s brass, who approved of this corrupt arrangement, deserve the greater share of condemnation. By abandoning its policy of not allowing him to cover his brother last spring, the network created an ethical morass where none previously existed. It gleefully allowed its anchor to lob softballs at his brother because it was good for ratings; as soon as that governor fell in the public’s estimation, he stopped showing up."
    • CNN's Brian Stelter has become Chris Cuomo's shill

    TOPICS: Chris Cuomo, CNN, Andrew Cuomo, Brian Stelter, Cable News