The news broadcaster, which once boasted as the “most trusted name in news”, can no longer claim this label for itself.
Once again, CNN has to defend itself against accusations of violating journalistic standards.
The loss of trust is great.
It's about the close relationship between CNN presenter Chris Cuomo and his brother Andrew, Governor of New York State, once celebrated in New York's coronavirus disaster, now scandalous. A total of ten women have alleged sexual assault against Andrew Cuomo since last December. The Washington Post reported that journalist Cuomo had advised his brother, politician Cuomo, in official deliberations on how to deal with the allegations, to refuse requests for his resignation - while he continued to moderate one of the most successful news magazines on CNN.
The whole story goes back more than a year when Chris Cuomo - who likes to portray himself as a moral apostle in his show "Cuomo Prime Time" - invited his brother Andrew, Governor of New York State, to his show. That seemed justified at first: Chris Cuomo was infected with the virus at the end of March 2020 and sent it out of his basement quarantine in a fever. Andrew Cuomo has been in the spotlight not only as the governor of a state that was an early epicenter of the pandemic, but also as a politician who was widely lauded for his drastic protections and a bellicose opponent of Trump. But the loose flax of the brothers during prime time on CNN, when Andrew highlighted his political exploits and Chris didn't spare his thirteen-year-old brother, was a nasty blow.The AP news agency quoted a journalism professor with the verdict “absolutely inappropriate”. "Politico" wrote that one had to marvel at the ease with which the brothers at Cuomo crossed ethical boundaries. The Washington Post noted that the Cuomo brothers benefited from their celebrity status.
At CNN, however, it not only bothered anyone, the station defended its appearance as an important story in the midst of the pandemic and only stopped Chris Cuomo's family chatter when his brother was accused in January of this year of having embellished statistics on Covid deaths in New York old people's homes. Andrew Cuomo was already accused of having sexually harassed a former employee. In the weeks that followed, more women spoke up with similar allegations, and several of Cuomo's Democratic party comrades called for an independent investigation. Andrew Cuomo apologized for the fact that his "playful", unwanted touches, kisses and remarks might have put women in distress and - wiped calls for resignation from the table.
From then on he no longer appeared in "Cuomo Prime Time". Chris Cuomo admitted that he should of course be left out when reporting his broadcaster about the allegations against his brother. Of course, by this time the child had already fallen into the well. Of course, he advises his brother, said Chris Cuomo in a statement on his broadcast, "this is not a revelation". Family comes first for him, even before his job. Then he admitted that it is not always easy to reconcile the role of the politician brother and that of the journalist. But this is not about a private conversation between the two, but about strategy conferences with Andrew Cuomo's employees and other consultants."As the host of a news magazine, advising a politician who is under pressure is not possible," said journalism professor Nicholas Lehman from the Columbia Journalism School to the media magazine Poynter.
In recent years, apparently under the pressure of the success of Fox News, CNN has given up journalistic distance and the endeavor to provide neutral reporting and relies on so-called "emo journalism" with moderators such as Cuomo, Don Lemon and Anderson Cooper who are demonstratively concerned.
The affair is particularly bitter in view of the widespread complaint about fake news.
According to a poll by the Gallup Institute, sixty percent of Americans have little or no trust in traditional news organizations.
Fox News has every reason to smile.
Meanwhile, CNN announced that it would not take disciplinary action against Chris Cuomo.