Shortly after Chris Cuomo was fired by CNN, he left his radio show. He’s since lost his book deal and severance.
Summary
Days after being fired by CNN following the revelation he was more involved in his brother’s defense, the bad news for Chris Cuomo continues.
- In addition to being an anchor for CNN, Cuomo had a radio show for SiriusXM which he announced he will give up.
- Cuomo’s planned book with HarperCollins, which was called “a provocative analysis of the harsh truths that the pandemic and Trump years have exposed about America” was also scrapped in the wake of Cuomo’s firing.
- The former anchor is preparing to sue CNN, saying his former employer owes him at least $18 million in severance for the remainder of his contract.
- Public sentiment appears to be on CNN’s side with a new poll indicating 61 percent of respondents agreeing with the cable network’s decision to fire Cuomo.
- Washington Post gave a detailed insider view of CNN’s decision to fire Cuomo, reporting that the law firm hired to conduct a review did not need to interview Cuomo to determine he had lied to his employer.
- Newsweek reported on podcaster Joe Rogan’s criticism of CNN despite the firing of their top-rated anchor, with Rogan calling the network “propagandists.”
- The Philadelphia Inquirer profiled Cuomo’s temporary replacement, hometown radio host Michael Smerconish, who said he is “not celebrating” the moment, calling Cuomo a friend.
- The Wall Street Journal reported on a company-wide townhall CNN head Jeff Zucker hosted in which he announced the network will not be paying Cuomo a severance.
- Townhall reported on the same company meeting in which Zucker regretted not taking action on Cuomo sooner but that he is glad Cuomo’s ouster is the end result.
- Celebrity attorney and Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz wrote for Newsmax that Zucker is the person who ought to be fired for turning “a once objective network” into a “biased, one-sided collection of advocates.”
Author’s Take
Anyone saying CNN is not biased news is either lying or not watching CNN. Dershowitz is correct that the network has taken a hard turn to advocacy and opinion, exclusively left-leaning. There are predictions of a major shakeup at CNN with the looming merger between WarnerMedia, which owns the network, and Discovery. The person expected to run this new company, David Zaslav, has said he will take a very “hands-on” approach with running the company and CNN and praised the early years of Fox News as a news organization. It’s entirely possible that CNN’s days as a network pretending to be unbiased are numbered. Whether that means they get back to their roots or drop the pretense remains to be seen.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
