(Politicizd) -- Over just the last few days, the once-famous Cuomo family, has become infamous, leaving much to be desired. Yesterday, Andrew Cuomo, the 56th, and now former Governor of New York, resigned, amid troubling sexual harassment allegations. The allegations, were confirmed in a lengthy report by New York's attorney general, Letitia James.
However, in the midst of this confusion, lies Chris Cuomo, one of three primetime hosts on CNN. Cuomo, who joined CNN in February of 2013, rose to the top of its programming, where he eventually started his own show, "Cuomo Prime Time". The show led all CNN programming for a number of months, garnering much praise over the past few years.
Most prominently though, throughout the early stages of the pandemic, Cuomo invited his brother, the Governor of New York to discuss his own coronavirus response. Moreover, in this interviews, the Governor was adored and praised for his handling of the recent outbreak.
As a result, when the Governor's misfortunes came to fruition, like his mishandling of nursing homes throughout New York, and the eventual publication of his sexual misconduct, many questioned how Chris Cuomo, his brother could objectively report the news.
Infamously, Chris Cuomo halted interviews with his brother, and avoided the headlines around it. Meanwhile, he continued pressing coverage of Governor Ron Desantis, criticizing his Covid-19 response, while his own brother was accused of aiding the deaths of thousands of New Yorkers through his own nursing home policies.
Consequently, in March of 2021, Cuomo announced that he would not cover sexual harassment allegations against his brother, but that CNN would cover these issues on other programs. Yet, just a few months later, Cuomo was reported to be involved in advising his brother, and offering his own insight. CNN immediately condemned Cuomo, calling them inappropriate, but refused to punish the highly paid analyst.
"I understand why that was a problem for CNN. It will not happen again"
(Chris Cuomo on advising Andrew Cuomo)
Yet, the damage is done, with thousands of viewers and fans leaving the show, illustrating a major drop in ratings. Furthermore, just this morning it was reported that Chris Cuomo was still advising his brother at the displeasure of CNN executives and employees.
In fact, according to Joseph Choi of The Hill:
[Cuomo] "has been on the phone with his brother regularly, eventually advising him to resign. The CNN anchor reportedly came to the conclusion that the governor would not be able to survive this latest political scandal".
Inevitably, this has led to much scrutiny putting Brian Stelter in an uncomfortable position on last night's Stephen Colbert Show.
Stelter admitted, "Some people are mad at him...By the way, I can confirm the New York Times report … I also have a source that says Chris was on the phone with his brother this week-"
When asked about the ethics of Chris Cuomo's decisions, Stelter added:
"It is an odd conflict... but I don't think – if we open up the journalism ethics book, there's no page for this. The craziest set of circumstances that you can imagine, right? A governor and a brother, both in these high-profile jobs. This is definitely awkward for CNN, though."
Stelter, the host of Reliable Sources on CNN's daily programming, squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, as he addressed the issue.
Nevertheless, Cuomo, currently on a 'planned vacation' is most certainly on the hot seat.
Does CNN, his network of 8 years, keep the political pundit, or does it recognize how he and his brother embarrassed the network, and ruined its already tarnished reputation of objectivity.
Many believe the latter, and that following his 'vacation', he will be without a job.
Kathleen Bartzen Culver, director of the Center for Journalism Ethics worries tremendously that the precedent set by Cuomo will hurt the overall media. She remarked, " So when one journalist or outlet makes questionable choices, the tarnish can easily spread to others. And make no mistake about it, Cuomo’s choices in this situation are questionable – at best."
Further stated, many journalists, like Magaret Sullivan, have speculated that his "long-planned vacation will be turned into – at least – an unpaid suspension of significant length. Sullivan added that, "CNN should be transparent with its viewers that its anchor acted unethically and that the network won’t countenance it."
To the contrary, many feel that Cuomo's past on air success, and his comparatively impressive ratings, will ensure that he TV career is far from over.
Robert Thompson, founding director of Syracuse University's Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture, says "If the decision is to keep him on, I don’t think it will knock CNN off the air. We’ve have seen some other reporters get into some very serious journalistic issues, who have come back and managed to survive these kinds of scandals."
Overall, with the current political landscape a liberal star like Chris Cuomo will be hard to forget, but so long as he actively aids a now-infamous Governor, his career is in deep jeopardy. More clearly stated, it is incredibly unlikely that Cuomo is seen on air for CNN, anytime soon.
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