Stelter Defends CNN, Chris Cuomo: 'A Lot of People' Have 'Sympathy' for Him

August 8th, 2021 2:25 PM

Sunday’s so-called Reliable Sources was the first real public statement CNN had put out about what they regarded as the “Chris Cuomo Conundrum,” as their chyron put it. Host Brian Stelter downplayed Cuomo’s massive breach of journalistic ethics and proclaimed there was a lot of “sympathy” for him at the network. He even suggested their non-punishment was punishment enough for Cuomo and dismissed anyone trying to hold him accountable as “bad-faith actors” spouting off “nonsense.”

Stelter started by noting Cuomo’s silence on his brother’s sexual and criminal misconduct scandals that he inserted himself into. He defended CNN’s ethically-compromised decision to allow Chris to interview Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) during the early days of the pandemic because it “was an unprecedented time period.

He essentially admitted that CNN was intentionally embracing Chris’s role in the Cuomo family scandals as a naked and shameless ratings play (Click “expand”):

A famous family in the news, a governor who soared who went to the highest heights last year and now falling to the lowest lows. Self-inflicted wounds. And a brother who just wants to do his job, just wants to anchor his show. But can he? That's the key question.

Well, this week Chris showed that he can. He tuned out the family drama and led compelling interviews during Cuomo Prime Time, all while dealing with what has to be one of the hardest periods of his adult life.

Viewers wanted to see him on TV. And let’s be honest, this is TV, so that's not a totally irrelevant factor. Chris had the highest-rated hour on CNN on Tuesday, on Wednesday, and again on Thursday.

“And you can believe me, I tried. I wanted an interview and I was turned down. Now, I personally believe he should speak out when the time is right. Chris should share his point of view. He's part of the story,” Stelter added.

 

 

Pivoting to perversely praising CNN, Stelter looked to take a swipe at his favorite hate object, Fox News by contrasting how they handle hosts in controversy. “Telling a well-off host to hang out at the pool for a couple weeks is not a real punishment. It's B.S. when Fox sends a host off on ‘vacation’ during a scandal,” he sneered.

And according to Stelter, CNN’s strong words were punishment enough for Cuomo. “Scolding a host in public, saying what they did was ‘inappropriate,’ that is an actual punishment,” he proclaimed.

Stelter then shifted to defending CNN’s coverage of Andrew by saying Chris wasn’t putting pressure on the newsroom. His argument hung on the notion that because Cuomo worked on a different floor he couldn’t have an influence (Click “expand”):

Plus, CNN is so much bigger than any one anchor. What really matters most is how CNN as a global news outlet covers the governor's alleged crimes. Now, I asked around about this all week, and I found absolutely no sign that Chris having a show at 9:00 affects the rest of the day. If anything, it's the opposite. Some staffers have speculated the coverage has been extra tough on CNN because of the scrutiny.

I think CNN's coverage has been scathing. It has been appropriately in-depth because this is the governor of one of the largest states in the country and in the middle of a political firestorm. So, I want you all to know it's not like Chris is walking around the New York beuaru newsroom hanging out with the reporters who are covering the story. He works several floors away. He doesn't have that kind of interaction.

It’s the same argument he used to claim The New York Times didn’t have a liberal bias outside the editorial board, as if electronic or out-of-work communication wasn’t a thing.

Ignoring the fact that Cuomo had never disclosed to his audience just how involved he was with his brother’s legal and PR defense, Stelter suggested “the conflict [of interest] is disclosed right in the show’s name, Cuomo Prime Time. So, that's not really the issue.”

Continuing to be on defense, Stelter also went to bat to dispel rumors that Cuomo’s upcoming vacation was CNN pulling him from the air as punishment, even though it was his second summer vacation in three weeks.

And never admitting that there were CNN staffers talking with other outlets who think Cuomo should be fired, including a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, Stelter suggested that even Cuomo’s critics had “a lot of sympathy for him. I think that’s significant that you all should know.”

This is CNN. Shameless.

Brian Stelter’s ridiculous defense of his network and Chris Cuomo’s ethical violation was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Fisher Investments and Skechers. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.

The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:

CNN’s Reliable Sources
August 8, 2021
11:27:36 a.m. Eastern

BRIAN STELTER: More now on the Cuomo brothers. Chris Cuomo has a lot to say, but right now he cannot say it. CNN management has made two things clear to him. One, that he can't talk about his brother Andrew Cuomo on TV, and two, that he can't participate in any more strategy sessions with the governor's aides. So, if you're wondering why Chris has remained silent about the scandal, well that is why.

This week I have been doing reporting on the media angle of this Cuomo story, which meant talking to staffer here at CNN about Chris Cuomo and his one-of-a-kind situation, TV star on prime time, governor's brother at all times.

Now – let’s just be candid with each other. These staffers I'm talking with are my colleagues, of course, and I assured them they can speak honestly and candidly. What I found is a more implicated story than you might think. This has been a conundrum for CNN that has no perfect answer, no perfect solution. Some think CNN made it worse by letting Chris interview his brother when Covid-19 was ravaging New York. But that was an unprecedented time period.

And so is this one! A famous family in the news, a governor who soared who went to the highest heights last year and now falling to the lowest lows. Self-inflicted wounds. And a brother who just wants to do his job, just wants to anchor his show. But can he? That's the key question.

Well, this week Chris showed that he can. He tuned out the family drama and led compelling interviews during Cuomo Prime Time, all while dealing with what has to be one of the hardest periods of his adult life.

Viewers wanted to see him on TV. And let’s be honest, this is TV, so that's not a totally irrelevant factor. Chris had the highest-rated hour on CNN on Tuesday, on Wednesday, and again on Thursday. And on those shows, Chris made no reference to his brother's troubles, and that is by design. My sources say the management has been clear about its position. He is not covering the governor on TV, period. He is not talking about it at all.

And you can believe me, I tried. I wanted an interview and I was turned down. Now, I personally believe he should speak out when the time is right. Chris should share his point of view. He's part of the story. The AG's report confirms Chris was actively talking with the governor’s aides about how to handle the allegations of harassment earlier this year. CNN management said back in May that Chris crossed a line by doing that and he apologized to colleagues for it.

Some critics say he should have been suspended or even fired. But I’m going to level with you. Telling a well-off host to hang out at the pool for a couple weeks is not a real punishment. It's B.S. when Fox sends a host off on “vacation” during a scandal. Scolding a host in public, saying what they did was “inappropriate,” that is an actual punishment.

Again, I think Chris should be asked about all this. He should be grilled like anyone else. That's what numerous staffers at CNN said to me this week. On the outside, some of the same critics who slammed him for interviewing his brother about Covid are knocking him now for staying silent. But tune out that bad-faith nonsense.

Here’s the logic on the part of management, and you can decide if you agree or you disagree with it. The logic on the part of management is that whatever Chris says about the allegations against his brother will be picked apart. He will be accused of either using his platform to spin for his family or he’ll be accused of betraying his brother. The logic is he should just stay out of it. He should do the job that the viewers want him to do.

Plus, CNN is so much bigger than any one anchor. What really matters most is how CNN as a global news outlet covers the governor's alleged crimes. Now, I asked around about this all week, and I found absolutely no sign that Chris having a show at 9:00 affects the rest of the day. If anything, it's the opposite. Some staffers have speculated the coverage has been extra tough on CNN because of the scrutiny.

I think CNN's coverage has been scathing. It has been appropriately in depth because this is the governor of one of the largest states in the country and in the middle of a political firestorm. So, I want you all to know it's not like Chris is walking around the New York beuaru newsroom hanging out with the reporters who are covering the story. He works several floors away. He doesn't have that kind of interaction.

Still, there is an optics problem, and that's why I'm dedicating so much time to this on the show. This entire story looks awkward for CNN. As one staffer said to me, “the lines are just too blurred when it comes to Chris.” Some colleagues are ticked off at him. But lots of CNNers also expressed support for him and respect for his anchoring skills. And, look, differences of opinion in a newsroom are a good thing. It is a good thing that people have differing opinions and they're talking about it and it's being discussed.

The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics instructs journalists to avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived, and to disclose unavoidable conflicts. Clearly, family is unavoidable. And in this case the conflict is disclosed right in the show’s name, Cuomo Prime Time. So, that's not really the issue.

The issue is whether Chris can continue to do his job, continue to be trusted by the audience. Clearly, the leaders of CNN think so. But ultimately, that's up to you. That's up to the people who tune in or don’t every night.

Trust in this business is earned every day, inch by inch, minute by minute, show by show. So, here's one thing I know for sure. Chris is going to have a surreal birthday on Monday. He always takes his birth week off. He always takes it off work. But this year he's going to be absent while his brother is fighting for his political life trying to stop his impeachment train.

And bad-faith actors are going to say Chris has been canceled or something when they don't see him on-air on Monday. Don't believe it. I checked with sources on his staff and they confirmed that he booked this time off months ago. It is an actual vacation, but it's coming at a really, really difficult time for Chris personally. And that's something that many sources brought up to me.

Whether they agree or disagree with management's decision, a lot of people feel a lot of sympathy for him. I think that’s significant that you all should know.

As for vacation, it seems like everyone could use one of those right about now.