Chris Cuomo has served as a CNN mainstay since 2013, and he’s hosted Cuomo Prime Time since 2017. However, that’s about to change.
CNN suspended Cuomo “indefinitely” on Tuesday, the network said in a statement.
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The network cut ties with Cuomo amid a newly public report from a New York official. According to the report, Cuomo reached out to journalists pursuing stories on his brother, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Then, he updated the governor’s office on potential stories about the allegations of sexual assault against his brother.
In the report, Chris Cuomo once texted the governor’s aides to say, “Please let me help with the prep.”
Cuomo faced criticism for breaking journalistic tradition… and potentially journalistic ethics.
Even the liberal Washington Post acknowledged Monday, “News organizations typically try to maintain clear boundaries between journalists and newsmakers, in an effort to maintain their independence. It’s considered a breach of ethics for a journalist — including those who engage primarily in giving their opinions — to support a source or public official, whether financially or in an advisory role.”
After the new revelations, CNN staffers have been demanding Chris Cuomo’s resignation. Some employees spoke to the New York Post Tuesday.
“How does he still have a job at the network? He’s not a journalist,” one employee asked. “Cuomo Prime Time has the lowest ratings to date. The viewers no longer trust him. His reign at CNN has to end.”
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Indeed, Cuomo Prime Time lost viewership in the last fiscal quarter. It now pulls fewer than half as many viewers as other programs in the same 9 p.m. timeslot, like Hannity on Fox and The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.
“Chris Cuomo enabled a sexual predator, the former governor of New York,” another employee told the NY Post. “He needs to immediately resign or CNN must fire him.”
The staffer went on to question Cuomo’s “journalistic integrity.”
However, some liberals have been defending Chris Cuomo’s family favors.
Why not be explicit?
"If my brother ever gets accused of sexual harassment or assault, I’m gonna do some unethical shit to help him out." pic.twitter.com/v4rHdNqzL9
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) December 1, 2021
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Cuomo has faced accusations of unethical behavior before. Last year, he frequently invited his brother, the former governor, onto Cuomo Prime Time for “interviews.”
In June 2020, the host told his brother on air, “I love you as a brother. Obviously I’ll never be objective. Obviously I think you’re the best politician in the country.”
Some CNN employees spoke out, even then.
“I cannot imagine a world in which anybody in journalism thinks that that was appropriate,” CNN’s Jake Tapper told The New York Times in May. “I certainly understand the love that Chris has for his brother, and I have a brother and I get it, but that was not a fun day.”
In May, CNN called the host’s actions “inappropriate” but kept him on staff, anyway.
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Now, he’s gone. To fill Cuomo’s old timeslot, CNN’s Anderson Cooper will extend his 8 p.m. show for another hour. Cooper announced the change on air Tuesday.
Read CNN’s statement here —
New: CNN has suspended Chris Cuomo indefinitely. Here’s the full statement from the network. pic.twitter.com/G7aEYgsL6K
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) November 30, 2021
The Horn editorial team