NBC News
This piece has been updated throughout following CNN’s decision to fire Chris Cuomo on Saturday evening.
By and large, journalists realize they have to conduct themselves in certain ways to earn the public’s trust. On a personal level, that means behaving ethically. On a professional level, that means adhering to professional journalistic norms, such as truth-telling and avoiding conflicts of interest.
The journalism industry has identified the steep decline of trust in the traditional media as one of the gravest challenges to its survival.
This is more than just an exercise in best practices. The journalism industry has identified the steep decline of trust in the traditional news media as one of the gravest challenges to its survival.
For months, Cuomo apparently bulldozed his way through the rules most journalists follow assiduously, and up until now suffered few serious consequences. He was allowed to flout the most commonsense restrictions on conflicts of interest by doing buddy-comedy segments with his brother, Andrew, then the governor of New York, who was leading what turned out to be a deeply flawed response to Covid-19.
When it was revealed that Chris Cuomo had violated CNN guidelines by taking part in strategy calls to help defend his brother from an ever-growing number of sexual harassment accusations, the star anchor was scolded but not disciplined. Despite calls to do so, CNN executives initially did not launch their own investigation of Cuomo’s behavior…
