As they waited for the news to break last week, Chris Cuomo struck an uncharacteristically deferential tone with his boss.
"I'll do whatever you think I should do," the combative CNN host told the network's president, Jeff Zucker, just before the anticipated publication of a story that would expose him for having crossed one of journalism's ethical lines. As The Washington Post reported Thursday, Cuomo participated in official strategy sessions with political advisers guiding his brother, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D), on how to respond to sexual-harassment allegations.
Zucker had tolerated other missteps by his increasingly controversial prime-time star. But this time, he informed Cuomo that he had crossed a line. And he urged him to go on TV to explain himself.
In some ways, it was a classic move on the part of Zucker, a veteran of NBC's entertainment division during the rise of reality TV, to capitalize on some behind-the-scenes drama by turning it into programming. (His conversation with Cuomo was described by people familiar with the exchange who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations at CNN.) Yet it also tracked with CNN's by now well-established policy of how to deal with the roiling, inherent conflict of the Cuomo brother dynamic — essentially by embracing itAnd even as many CNN employees griped privately about Cuomo's decision to insert himself into his brother's political operation, by early this week it seemed likely that he would survive this controversy, too, in large part because of Zucker's unwavering support.
At a town hall meeting for staff members Tuesday, Zucker acknowledged the concerns about Cuomo's seemingly untouchable status at CNN while defending his decision not to punish him by taking him off the air.
"There is no one else in Chris's shoes," Zucker told the staff, referring to the newsman's unique identity as the brother of a major newsmaker. "There are not special rules for Chris, and it does not excuse his mistake. It was more powerful and more honest to publicly say he screwed up and for him to publicly acknowledge his mistake."As the anchor of one of the nighttime hours that cable news has increasingly ceded to opinion, Cuomo also has more latitude to venture into personal expression than traditional news-deliverers — part of CNN's justification for his jovial, soft-focus segments interviewing the governor during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.
Yet the revelation that Cuomo had taken on the role of political adviser brings CNN ever more uncomfortably into the kind of partisanship adopted by conservative rival Fox News Channel, whose prime-time hosts regularly counseled Donald Trump during his presidency.
"It baffles many of us inside why the network seems to exempt Chris from so many of the good limitations that journalists should adhere to," said one of CNN's on-air journalists, speaking on the condition of anonymity to criticize colleagues.
Cuomo has also been criticized for receiving priority access to state coronavirus testing, because of his family connection, and for abruptly avoiding coverage of his brother once the governor's handling of the pandemic came under fire. Yet at every turn, he has had the support of his boss.
Zucker hired Cuomo in his first month as president of the cable giant in January 2013, when he deployed the former ABC News reporter to co-anchor CNN's then-struggling morning show. The two have an easy rapport, according to people who work with both men, and Cuomo was an early adopter of Zucker's push to move CNN beyond its strait-laced origins and encourage hosts and anchors to bring more personality and "authenticity" to the airwaves.
"What I love about Chris is that he's passionate about every story he tells," Zucker said in 2013. Neither Cuomo nor Zucker agreed to be interviewed for this article.
In June 2018, CNN promoted Cuomo to 9 p.m., cable news's most coveted slot. "The perfect cable news anchor," Zucker called him in an interview the following year, praising his feisty, blunt interviewing style.
"Cuomo Prime Time" has become CNN's most-watched show, and although his ratings typically trail those of his 9 p.m. counterparts — Sean Hannity on Fox News and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC — he recently achieved a major victory when his show attracted more viewers in the coveted 25-to-54 demographic for the first three months of the year.
From 2020: The Cuomo brothers put on quite a show. Should the journalism-ethics police shut it down?
When Cuomo joined the network, CNN stipulated that he would not be able to cover his brother. But CNN lifted that ban when New York emerged as the pandemic's epicenter, with the host himself battling covid-19. Cuomo's six interviews with his brother drew big ratings, and the governor's popularity surged, in part because of the calm but firm manner he presented in televised news conferences from Albany, for which the politician was awarded a special Emmy.
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