Sunday, August 15, 2021

15 August 2021: Cuomo Cheerleader CNN's Chris Cuomo Controversy

We're taking advantage of a relative breather in the ongoing ethical scandals of Andrew M. Cuomo to catch up with the journalism ethics scandals of his hapless brother, Chris Cuomo, and the news network he compromised, CNN. This will be a long timeline entry, spanning the ten days from 5 August 2021 through 15 August 2021.

Chris Cuomo's ethical failure: Why CNN anchor's actions hurt journalists across America

This opinion piece by Kathleen Bartzen Culver appeared in USA Today on 5 August 2021. It explains, simply, why CNN's management failure in allowing Chris Cuomo to influence its coverage and to advise Andrew M. Cuomo on his media strategy harms all journalists.

As details emerged this week that CNN anchor Chris Cuomo assisted in drafting his brother’s response to a sexual harassment scandal, my first thought was about my former students in newsrooms large and small, whose work just got harder.

Cuomo was more involved in crisis communication strategy for his brother — one of the most powerful Democrats in the country — than previously disclosed.

What happens to him at CNN is less important to me than what happens to all the other journalists whose ethics will be questioned and whose bond of trust with the citizens they serve could be damaged by the choices he made.

When it comes to credibility and trust, people don’t see individual reporters or news organizations. They see “the media.” So when one journalist or outlet makes questionable choices, the tarnish can easily spread to others....

Cuomo squandered his journalistic independence by getting involved in saving his brother’s political career. But he also put a sword in the hands of people who would call journalists “enemies of the people.”

Cuomo is perhaps the most flagrant practicioner of the advocacy, or "narrative"-based school of journalism, which predetermines conclusions then seeks out stories aimed at influencing public debate toward the journalist's predetermined goal, omitting covering other stories that would either contradict or obstruct that goal from being achieved. Originally aimed at potentially putting Andrew M. Cuomo into the White House, CNN under Cuomo's influence turned toward acting as a gatekeeper seeking to keep Cuomo's multiple scandals from blowing up.

Related coverage from the timeline:

The longer CNN's managers and editors fail to excise their Cuomo problems, which extend beyond Chris Cuomo to the top of CNN's organization chart, this thread of headlines will probably continue lengthening until ending with headlines like "CNN Fires Chris Cuomo", or ultimately, "The Death of CNN". They've chosen to dig a very deep hole for themselves.

Moving on...

New York Assembly moves forward with Cuomo impeachment inquiry as the governor digs in, refusing to step down

This report appeared in the Washington Post on 10 August 2021. Here's the relevant item featuring CNN's Chris Cuomo, which confirms that the CNN reporter continued advising the scandal-mired Andrew M. Cuomo even after he pledged to stop engaging in the conflict of interest:

Cuomo, who is ensconced in the governor’s mansion in Albany and has not been coming to the office, is left with few advisers. Rich Azzopardi, his longtime spokesman, has said he plans to stay in his post. The governor also continues to confer with longtime adviser Charlie King, a lobbyist at the public strategy firm Mercury, as well as his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, according to people familiar with the situation.

Put a pin in this story, we'll come back to it shortly....

CNN Owes Its Viewers an Apology

This opinion piece appeared in The New Republic on 11 August 2021.

Over the last several months, Chris has served as an informal adviser to his brother as he attempted to hold onto his job and avoid impeachment. A report from New York Attorney General Letitia James found that Chris was advising his brother’s communication strategy and had even drafted a statement indicating that the whole thing was a misunderstanding: “Sometimes I am playful and make jokes,” that draft read, in part. “My only desire is to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business.” Andrew Cuomo resigned on Tuesday—while using a similar defense to the one proposed by his brother—but Chris—who is currently (and fortuitously) on vacation—still has a job.

There has been some suggestion that these matters fall under a journalistic gray area. Chris, after all, has not publicly discussed or reported on the allegations against his brother or his decision to resign. He has not misinformed the public, nor has he covered up his involvement with his brother’s defense. (He acknowledged that he had been “looped into calls” back in May, when he apologized and noted that the calls were “inappropriate.”) But there is no “blood is thicker than water” card in journalism; nothing that says that all journalistic ethics go out the window when a family member is involved.

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. 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.

None of this was rooted in the interests of journalism or the ethics that underpin the industry; it was a cynical business decision, not that anyone at CNN will simply admit it. It’s hard for the network to punish Chris Cuomo for giving his brother a helping hand and a pat on the back because CNN’s editorial policy for much of 2020 was that giving Andrew Cuomo a helping hand and a pat on the back was good television. But it should never be forgotten that CNN’s profit play helped whitewash Andrew Cuomo’s derelict record on Covid-19 and in his own decrepit professional life. These are the true stories CNN chose to not tell its viewers. It should pay a price for this failure.

We'll point out again that this opinion piece appeared in The New Republic, which is no stranger to journalism scandals.

Chris Cuomo apparently lied to his viewers. Again.

Remember that story we asked you to pin? This 11 August 2021 opinion piece is where it comes back into play....

CNN’s Chris Cuomo told his viewers this year he’d stop advising his brother, disgraced Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on how to navigate multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

The cable news gremlin that faked the moment he “emerged” from his basement after an alleged battle with COVID-19 apparently lied.

Who would have predicted such a thing?

The Washington Post reports this week: “Cuomo, who is ensconced in the governor’s mansion in Albany and has not been coming to the office, is left with few advisers. Rich Azzopardi, his longtime spokesman, has said he plans to stay in his post. The governor also continues to confer with longtime adviser Charlie King, a lobbyist at the public strategy firm Mercury, as well as his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, according to people familiar with the situation.”

But wait, there's more!

The New York Times confirms the Washington Post’s report: “Chris Cuomo has regularly spoken with Governor Cuomo by telephone over the past week and advised his brother to resign, said two people who requested anonymity to describe sensitive private conversations.”

By the way, this isn’t the first time that it has been reported that the cable news anchor, who hosted the New York governor for a half-dozen glow-up interviews during the height of the coronavirus pandemic last year, has been advising New York’s disgraced governor behind the scenes.

That confirmation may have sealed both Chris Cuomo's fate at CNN, and perhaps the network's if it fails to act on it.

Now, what effect has all this information coming out since Andrew M. Cuomo's resignation had on CNN's viewership, particularly for its Prime Time newscast hosted by Chris Cuomo?

Women rejecting CNN's Chris Cuomo after Gov brother's resignation over sexual harassment

This report appeared in The Hill on 12 August 2021.

Women are reportedly tuning out CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” the network’s flagship show with Chris Cuomo, after the New York Attorney General released a report that found the anchor’s brother, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, sexually harassed at least 11 women.

It was before Chris went on his birthday trip, departing from his show last week, Tuesday through Friday, that there was a significant drop in female viewership, The Wrap reported. At the same time, Attorney General Letitia James announced the details of the report and the New York governor’s history of misconduct that Tuesday morning.

“Cuomo Prime Time” averaged 453,000 female viewers last week, with only 76,000 in the coveted demographic age of 25 and 54 for advertisements, according to Nielsen Media Research and The Wrap.

That is a 21 percent decrease from his second-quarter average of 570,000. In that age demographic, it’s a 41 percent decrease from his second-quarter average of 128,000, Wrap Up reported.

In a year to date comparison, female viewers dropped by 45 percent -- 61 percent of those viewers being in key demographics.

The report suggests "Chris Cuomo is taking backlash for something his brother did", but does not consider that Chris Cuomo has been enmeshed in the things his brother did for months, including providing advice for how to escape facing consequences for his acts, particularly with the media.

Unless CNN's managers and editors make a decision to the contrary, Chris Cuomo will return to host CNN's Prime Time broadcast on Monday, 16 August 2021.

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