Should CNN be investigating Chris Cuomo?
Jazz Shaw Aug 10, 2021 1:31 PM ET
The title question isn’t coming from me, nor any other conservative blogger or frequent critic of cable news or the Cuomo family. It’s being raised by Eric Wemple at the Washington Post. And in some ways, his critique actually winds up being focused more on Brian Stelter and the management of the network than Fredo himself. Stelter seemed to be attempting to question the journalistic ethics involved with the younger Cuomo hosting a show on the network while his brother teeters on the brink of impeachment, lawsuits and possible criminal charges over his alleged sexual harassment and possibly assault on any number of women during his show on Sunday.
Over the course of the show, Stelter raised a number of seemingly valid questions about potential improprieties on Cuomo’s part. But in each instance, he somehow found a reason to bat them away as not representing journalistic failures so much as simply “poor optics.” Wemple does an admirable job of batting down each of Stelter’s arguments, eventually concluding that these are not issues of optics, but rather valid questions of substance.
Actually, there is no optics problem. It’s all substance. The network acknowledged as much earlier this year when it issued a statement scolding Chris Cuomo for having participated in conference calls to assist Andrew Cuomo: “Chris has not been involved in CNN’s extensive coverage of the allegations against Governor Cuomo — on-air or behind the scenes. In part because, as he has said on his show, he could never be objective. But also because he often serves as a sounding board for his brother. However, it was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the Governor’s staff, which Chris acknowledges. He will not participate in such conversations going forward.” (Chris Cuomo apologized on air for the lapse.)
More substance: The Post reported in May that Chris Cuomo, in his discussions with his brother’s support group, “encouraged his brother to take a defiant position and not to resign from the governor’s office, the people [familiar with the conversations] said. At one point, he used the phrase ‘cancel culture’ as a reason to hold firm in the face of the allegations, two people present on one call said.” (We put several questions before Stelter, who declined to respond on the record; Stelter did ask to interview Chris Cuomo but was turned down.)
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https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2021/08/10/should-cnn-be-investigating-chris-cuomo-n407860
