CNN was in turmoil in the early months of 2022, with CEO Jeff Zucker <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-blasted-after-zucker-resigns-over-relationship-with-colleague-industry-insiders-suggest-more-to-story">posting</a> his shocking resignation after nearly a decade of leading the company, admitting to not disclosing his relationship with senior CNN executive Allison Gollust.
CNN’s ratings had tanked following the 2020 election, with scandals involving Chris Cuomo advising his accused-brother Andrew Cuomo despite his journalistic credentials and an increasingly alienated viewership becoming exhausted with what they perceived as partisan hosts and panels.
It was in this vein that Discovery CEO David Zaslav, the parent company of CNN, recognized the need for a course correction in leadership, and chose &#8220;Late Show&#8221; executive producer Chris Licht to be the next head of the deteriorating company. 
Initially, both CNN anchors and even conservatives alike rallied behind Licht’s message of reeling in the sensationalism and partisanship that CNN had become associated with under the leadership of Jeff Zucker. 
However, little more than a year into his takeover, Zaslav had become impatient, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ceo-chris-licht-out-at-cnn-after-tumultuous-year-controversial-trump-town-hall">announcing</a> to CNN staff the CEO’s departure on Wednesday morning, “For a number of reasons things didn’t work out, and that’s unfortunate,” Mr. Zaslav said, according to a recording of his remarks, per The New York Times. “It’s really unfortunate, and ultimately that’s on me. And I take full responsibility for that.” 
“This job was never going to be easy, especially at a time of great disruption and transformation,” he continued. “Chris poured his heart and soul into this job. Like all of you, he was in the line of fire and he’s taken a lot of hits. We appreciate his efforts, his passion, his love for journalism, and his love for this business.”
Here is a timeline of the events that ultimately led to the fall of one of the more promising leadership changes in media:
<h2>CNN+ Failure</h2>
CNN+ was a streaming service first <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/24/business/media/cnn-plus-discovery-warner.html">announced</a> by then-CNN CEO Jeff Zucker in July 2021 as a foray into the world of subscription-based streaming services, as the network, like many others, saw a decline in demand for cable TV. The venture was backed by CNN’s parent company of Time Warner, but with a deal to merge with Discovery, this backing would be complicated further down the line.
In all, the company hired hundreds of people to work on the service, recruited media figures such as Chris Wallace to be featured exclusively on the platform, and planned to have 8-12 hours of live programming every day, at a total cost of $300 million.
After a massive media blitz promoting CNN+ on every platform, the end result was fewer than 10,000 live viewers at any given time just two weeks after the service had gone live, fewer than many middle-of-the-pack live streamers on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube, who did not require $300 million to break 10,000 viewers.
Discovery was skeptical of CNN+ from the beginning and left Chris Licht to pick up the pieces before he was even officially CEO in April of 2022. After the leak of the dismal viewer count, the service was shut down, and despite his lack of early involvement with the venture, it was Licht who had to break the news to hundreds of CNN+ hosts and employees that they had upended their lives to move over to CNN+ for nothing, already souring his image in the company.
<h2>Trump Town Hall Debacle </h2>
CNN hosted a town hall with former President Donald Trump for the first time since 2016, bringing in the best ratings that CNN had had in years along with scathing criticism from many Left-wing pundits and outlets, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-scorched-inside-and-out-by-leftist-backlash-over-trump-town-hall">inside</a> the company. 
The town hall was hosted by Kaitlan Collins along with 300 mostly Trump-enthusiasts in the audience cheering him on as Trump hit all the beats that alienate many CNN employees and executives alike; from recounting the 2020 election fraud claims to lambasting the “fake news media,” it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-scorched-inside-and-out-by-leftist-backlash-over-trump-town-hall">seemed to many</a> on the Left that CNN simply lost control of the town hall.
“CNN should be ashamed of themselves. They have lost total control of this ‘town hall’ to again be manipulated into platforming election disinformation, defenses of Jan 6th, and a public attack on a sexual abuse victim,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted, referring to writer E. Jean Carroll, who is suing Trump in civil court over an alleged sexual assault.
This repulsion to what had occurred at the town hall seemed to have been echoed by many at CNN, who thought Licht did not take the necessary precautions to prevent Trump from going on a supposedly unfiltered rant and spreading “misinformation” to the 3.3 million people who watched the town hall. 
Many at CNN saw Licht as putting Collins in an impossible situation, tasked with corralling answers out of a bombastic Trump surrounded by hundreds of loyal supporters who cheered his every retort, further reducing confidence in Licht’s leadership. 
<h2>Firing Of Key Hosts</h2>
Several months after his takeover, CNN’s ratings and coinciding profits were continuing to decline (with a $300 million hit from CNN+), and Licht was forced to bring out the hatchet; laying off about 440 of CNN’s 4,400 employees. However, cost-cutting was not the only reason for many of Licht’s restructuring or firings, with longtime host Brian Stelter, perceived by many on the Right as heavily biased towards Democrats, being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brian-stelter-torched-after-being-ousted-by-cnn-contemptible-vapid-and-unbearably-smug">fired</a> last August as a part of Licht’s push to cleanse the network of partisan hosts.
Stelter had been at the network for years, hosting the show “Reliable Sources,” which had the goal of highlighting lies and misinformation in the news media and presenting the audience with “reliable” information that showed what was truly relevant to the country. This firing came as a shock to many at CNN, with Licht forced to respond following a panic at his company:
“I want to acknowledge that this is a time of significant change, and I know that many of you are unsettled,” Licht reportedly told staffers on an editorial staff call in late August. “There will be more changes, and you might not understand it or like it.”
More changes did indeed come, with primetime hyper-partisan host Don Lemon being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-blasts-don-lemon-over-statement-claims-its-false">ousted</a> in April following his comments that 2024 GOP Presidential Primary candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was “past her prime.” This unsavory comment combined with his backlog of alleged workplace mistreatment of women since 2008 led to Lemon’s firing. 
Despite this immense turnover, many at Discover and inside CNN were becoming impatient with Licht, and he seemed to have made nobody happy with his myriad of changes.
<h2>The Atlantic Profile</h2>
Most major news outlets seem to agree that The Atlantic profile on Licht <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/06/cnn-ratings-chris-licht-trump/674255/">published</a> last Friday was likely the last straw for Discovery executives. Licht inexplicably gave The Atlantic near-unlimited access to his daily life in and outside CNN, showing seeming overconfidence that he could simply gloss over the aforementioned turmoil at the company. 
The Atlantic’s 15,000-word article shows that Licht has clearly lost the confidence of many CNN employees and Discovery executives interviewed in the piece, becoming isolated from the company’s average employee, as well as &#8220;projecting this persona of a bulletproof badass because that’s what Zaslav wants to see. &#8230; Licht’s circle was small and getting smaller &#8230; Whereas he was guarded with CNN employees, our many hours of conversations began to feel like therapy sessions for Licht, safe spaces in which he vented grievances.&#8221;
The profile also features some strange and embarrassing moments from Licht. Author Tim Alberta asks Licht why he was skipping a meal, and Licht responds, “I&#8217;m a f***ing machine.” Alberta observed the CEO’s workout routine, Licht &#8220;squatted down to grab a long metal pole lying flat on the ground. &#8216;Zucker couldn’t do this s***,&#8217; Licht said through clenched teeth, hoisting the pole with a grunt.&#8221;
These factors combined to lead David Zaslav to pull the plug on Licht’s short-lived tenure at CNN, leaving the company’s future up in the air as it struggles to get past its myriad of financial and interpersonal challenges that put it in this position, to begin with.

Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023

Inside Chris Licht’s Tumultuous Run At CNN

Inside Chris Licht's Tumultuous Run At CNN

Chris Cuomo

Donald Trump

Jeff Zucker

Media Bias

Readers Pass

Scandals

A CNN insider claimed the network&#8217;s former president Jeff Zucker ordered staffers to forego investigating the COVID origins lab leak theory, arguing the discussion would only serve as a &#8220;Trump talking point.&#8221;
&#8220;People are slowly waking up from the fog,&#8221; the insider told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/credibility-crisis-cnn-boss-ordered-staff-not-chase-down-covid-lab-leak-theory">Fox News Digital</a>. &#8220;It is kind of crazy that we didn&#8217;t chase it harder.&#8221;
Zucker&#8217;s disdain for anything related to former President Donald Trump drove the network into an anti-Trump operation from the moment he descended an escalator at Trump Tower and announced his bid for the White House nearly eight years ago. From that day forward, the network pushed countless false accusations, misapplied or misrepresented facts, and omitted pertinent information surrounding Trump&#8217;s only term in office.
When COVID began spreading across the globe three years ago, a concerted effort formed almost instantly from legacy media, public health officials, and Democrat Party politicians to suppress or dismiss the idea the virus possibly leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the central Chinese city.
Zucker and other CNN officials played a role in attempting to debunk such narratives about the pandemic.
Under Zucker&#8217;s watch, CNN&#8217;s Oliver Darcy published a story headlined, &#8220;Here&#8217;s how to debunk coronavirus misinformation and conspiracy theories from friends and family,&#8221; on March 28, 2020, which attempted to give the network&#8217;s sinking viewership advice on how to converse with family and friends who refused to believe the mainstream media&#8217;s take on COVID.
&#8220;While the coronavirus pandemic has isolated family and friends inside their homes, it has in many cases increased online or over-the-phone communication with loved ones,&#8221; Darcy wrote. &#8220;But, in some cases, relatives and friends share poor information – whether it is bad science related to how to prevent the virus, debunked rumors about cities being put on lockdown, or conspiracy theories about the origins of Covid-19.&#8221;
Darcy added the so-called misinformation related to a public health crisis poses a risk to those who fall victim to it — one of the many reports to come out of the network dismissing anything that goes against the mainstream narrative.
CNN host Fareed Zakaria said during a broadcast that &#8220;the far right has now found its own virus conspiracy theory&#8221; when discussing the lab leak.
Independent journalist Tom Elliott compiled a Twitter thread of receipts last week showcasing clips of legacy media pundits and reporters from CNN and other Left-wing outlets dismissing the lab leak as a &#8220;conspiracy theory.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
CNN’s <a href="https://twitter.com/DrewGriffinCNN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DrewGriffinCNN</a>: “Zero proof” behind “conspiracy theory” that Covid originated not from nature but a Chinese bio lab <a href="https://t.co/kpFQV8V37I">pic.twitter.com/kpFQV8V37I</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1630268426626236417?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 27, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Zucker resigned from his post last year after an internal investigation into disgraced former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo revealed that the former network president had an ongoing consensual relationship — with top marketing officer Allison Gollust — at the media network that he had failed to disclose to the company.
CNN officials later replaced Zucker with Chris Licht, who almost immediately instituted changes at the cable outlet to restore trust in the network &#8220;by being an organization that exemplifies the best characteristics of journalism.&#8221;
The &#8220;well-known&#8221; CNN insider that accused Zucker of bypassing the controversial origins theory of COVID comes as the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently stated the virus leaked from the Chinese laboratory in question.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Department of Energy officials revised a previous document that judged with &#8220;low confidence&#8221; that the virus had leaked from a Chinese laboratory.
New classified intelligence recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress showed Energy Department officials shifted their assessment of the pandemic&#8217;s origins in an updated 2021 report by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines&#8217;s office. The updated classified report also affirms the view that COVID did not stem from a biological weapons program. The Journal noted that a lack of a definitive animal source had led researchers and U.S. officials to suspect a leak from Wuhan&#8217;s assemblage of laboratories.
FBI Director Christopher Wray also recently said the bureau assessed that the origins of COVID most likely leaked from a Wuhan lab.
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The National Intelligence Council and four agencies, which the Journal says officials refuse to identify, still believe with &#8220;low confidence&#8221; in the natural emergence theory. The Central Intelligence Agency and two other agencies reportedly still have not made a determination.
Subcommittee members from the U.S. House of Representatives investigating the origins of COVID and the federal government’s gain of function research pushed a new memo Sunday claiming new evidence suggests Dr. Anthony Fauci “prompted the drafting&#8221; of &#8220;Proximal Origins&#8221; to disprove the lab leak theory.

CNN Heroes – Red Carpet

CNN Insider Claims Zucker Ordered Staffers To Dismiss Lab Leak Theory As ‘Trump Talking Point’

CNN Insider Claims Former Network President Ordered Staffers To Ignore 'Lab Leak Theory' 

COVID-19

Fake News

Media

U.S.

Former CNN chief <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jeff-zucker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jeff Zucker</a>, who left the network over his alleged involvement in numerous scandals, is reportedly poised to reemerge in the media world in the sports realm.
Zucker left <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a> in February after news broke that he failed to disclose a romantic relationship that he had with another executive at the network. His departure also came after it was revealed that he had a cozy relationship with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), the brother of one of the network&#8217;s top hosts at the time, Chris Cuomo, who was fired by the network.
The Ankler newsletter <a href="https://theankler.com/p/exclusive-jeff-zucker-in-talks-for" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> that Zucker &#8220;is in talks to lead a $1 billion sports investment fund for RedBird Capital Partner’s Gerry Cardinale, the managing partner and CEO of the New York-based investment firm.&#8221;
RedBird has reportedly made numerous recent investments in sports ventures, including &#8220;a stake in Skydance Media; a partnership with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia to buy the XFL, the bankrupt football league founded by former WWE CEO Vince McMahon; and a partnership with Epic Games and Nike to take a stake in SpringHill, the production company founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter.&#8221;
The report said that Zucker, a leftist, had considered a run for office, but quickly ditched those plans.
Zucker resigned from CNN while the network was investigating the actions of Chris Cuomo in helping his brother navigate a political scandal while he was the governor of New York, a position from which he later resigned.
&#8220;As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,&#8221; Zucker said. &#8220;I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong.&#8221;
&#8220;As a result, I am resigning today,&#8221; Zucker continued. &#8220;I came to CNN on January 28, 2013. Together, we had nine great years. I certainly wish my tenure here had ended differently. But it was an amazing run. And I loved every minute. I am grateful to the thousands of incredibly talented CNN and Turner Sports employees who helped make this such a joy for me, and a success for all of us.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-top-cnn-msnbc-execs-defend-not-covering-hunter-laptop-before-election-he-was-never-arrested" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Former Top CNN, MSNBC Execs Defend Not Covering Hunter Laptop Before Election: ‘He Was Never Arrested!’</a>

Capital One’s The Match

Ex-CNN Chief Jeff Zucker Poised To Break Out Into The Sports World: Report

Sports

Two former top executives at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn">CNN</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/msnbc">MSNBC</a> defended their network&#8217;s decisions to not cover the Hunter Biden laptop scandal more prior to the 2020 presidential election because he was not criminally charged at the time.
The remarks from former MSNBC chief Phil Griffin and former CNN chief Jeff Zucker came during a conversation they had late last week at the Un-Convention in Philadelphia with CNN host Michael Smerconish.
&#8220;I think that the Hunter laptop was worthy of more airing than it received right before the election,&#8221; Smerconish said. &#8220;Either of you agree with me on that? Do you regret, how about if I ask it this way specifically, do you regret not dealing with it before the election?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, I mean, I think, I think we, the question is, we did deal with it,&#8221; Zucker claimed. &#8220;But to the degree that, you know, you would, you would have thought was appropriate? I think the answer is in the, in the final two weeks, you know, it was looked at, we did not know enough about it. There was not, you know, there was not within two weeks of the election, the ability, when the messenger on that story was Rudy Giuliani, OK? No, I mean, but I mean, that&#8217;s the problem. It&#8217;s like, you&#8217;re gonna give a lot of legitimacy to Rudy Giuliani delivering, you know, he&#8217;s got the goods? So part of the issue with that story was who was delivering the goods? Okay, that&#8217;s one.&#8221;
&#8220;That doesn&#8217;t mean that we didn&#8217;t look into it. We did. We did look into it,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;But first of all, you know, with regard to the son of the candidate, you know, he was the son of the candidate, he wasn&#8217;t the candidate. The question that you&#8217;ll come back with is well, but what role did the candidate play in his business dealings? You know, frankly, with 10 days or two weeks to go, it was looked at by very credible organizations, including the Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch&#8217;s Wall Street Journal, and they found nothing at that time, okay? So my point is, it&#8217;s easy to say we should have spent more time on that. Listen, do I think it&#8217;s legitimate to look at? Sure. Do I think that like, it&#8217;s a legitimate criticism to say that in 10 days, 14 days prior to the election, you didn&#8217;t spend enough time on it? Not really.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fmr CNN boss Jeff Zucker defends the network ignoring evidence of Hunter/Joe Biden corruption before the presidential election: &quot;We didn&#39;t know enough about it .. the messenger on that story was Rudy Giuliani&quot; 
&quot;Do I think it&#39;s a legitimate criticism [we ignored it]? Not really&quot; <a href="https://t.co/q4rDUNTAbw">pic.twitter.com/q4rDUNTAbw</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1581017951414603778?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Smerconish then turned his attention to Griffin, and asked for his take on the matter.
&#8220;He was never arrested,&#8221; Griffin said. &#8220;The Justice Department was looking into it, never reported it until he is the son of a candidate. I don’t think it’s a main story until that happens.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a, it&#8217;s a main story until that happens. Now we looked into it, you know, NBC News did, Tom Winter and Ken DeLorean did a great job,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;They met with Rudy. He brought a couple of pages printed out from the so called, from the from the computer. They asked for a digital copy of it. They didn&#8217;t get it. But I don&#8217;t think it was a big story before the election because he was never found, he was never charged.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
MSNBC&#39;s Phil Griffin likewise defends their refusal to do journalism: &quot;He was never arrested &#8230; I don&#39;t think it was a big story before the election because he was never charged with anything&quot; <a href="https://t.co/fV0Eo570EJ">pic.twitter.com/fV0Eo570EJ</a>
&mdash; Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1581019666310258688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

World Food Program USA’s 2016 McGovern-Dole Leadership Award Ceremony

Former Top CNN, MSNBC Execs Defend Not Covering Hunter Laptop Before Election: ‘He Was Never Arrested!’

Hunter Biden

When CNN’s parent company, Warner Media, merged with Discovery last November, John Malone, the libertarian billionaire who holds a controlling interest in the conglomerate, wasted no time making it clear there was a new sheriff in town. His first order of business—reforming the left-wing practices that have tarnished the news network’s brand and led to <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2020/01/24/in-recent-years-partisan-media-divides-have-grown-largely-driven-by-republican-distrust/">58 percent</a> of Republicans saying they no longer trust the outlet as a news source. Where better to start than at the top?
While conventional wisdom holds that CNN’s former chief, Jeff Zucker, was ousted over a sexual harassment scandal involving star anchor Chris Cuomo, insiders say the incident may have simply been a pretext. Cuomo’s foibles, combined with Zucker’s own affair with his chief marketing officer, gave Malone an easy opening to do what he knew would be necessary in order to return the network to its straight-news roots.
“I would like to see CNN evolve back to the kind of journalism that it started with, and actually have journalists, which would be unique and refreshing,” Malone, one of the original pioneers of cable TV, told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/18/john-malone-says-warnermedia-discovery-getting-rid-of-cnn-would-be-the-cowards-way-out.html">CNBC</a>. “I do believe good journalism could have a role in this future portfolio that Discovery-TimeWarner’s going to represent.”
While not nearly as well-known as his sometime “frenemy” Rupert Murdoch, the 80-year-old Malone has a reputation for fierce business acumen that industry-watchers say has not dulled with age. <a href="https://variety.com/vip/john-malones-cnn-miscalculation-1235180460/">Variety</a>, for instance, recently referred to him as a “mogul’s mogul” who’s no stranger to playing “multi-level chess while the rest of the industry [is playing] checkers.”
And like any successful player, Malone hasn’t been afraid to use the pieces on the board aggressively.
Conservatives had openly wondered how transformational a force Zucker’s replacement, Chris Licht, was likely to be at CNN, given his past as an executive producer for Stephen Colbert. Going by the ouster of first Zucker and then “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter, it looks like Malone instincts were right.
Immediately after taking over as CEO, Licht began evaluating anchors and reporters, as well as behind-the-scenes staff, in view of how much political bias shows up in programming. As <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/07/cnn-evaluating-partisan-talent-chris-licht">Axios</a> reported, for on-air talent, that has included treating interviewees respectfully, even if they’re conservatives, so as to avoid accusations of “PR stunts.” For on-air hosts and anchors, it has meant tamping down on editorializing. Regular viewers will note that morning anchor Brianna Keilar’s frequent criticism of competitor Fox News, for example, has all but vanished.
For producers and bookers, the regime change has meant segments that delve into nuance and complexity rather than trying to produce viral moments. It has also meant a directive to stop running “breaking news” chyrons over every other story. “[The breaking news banner] has become such a fixture on every channel and network that its impact has become lost on the audience,” Licht said in a note obtained by <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/06/cnn-breaking-news-chris-licht-1235037246/">Deadline</a>. “We are truth-tellers, focused on informing, not alarming our viewers.”
Those initial steps accomplished, Licht began letting the rank and file know that incendiary language like using the phrase “the big lie” to describe President Trump’s claims he won the 2020 election, would no longer be tolerated. <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/tv/scoop-new-cnn-boss-chris-licht-wants-staff-to-stop-calling-it-the-big-lie/">Mediaite</a> said sources told them that Licht said on a conference call with management that such terminology mirrors Democratic Party branding and talking points too closely, making it harder for viewers to trust that CNN’s reporting is objective.
Of course, the big question was whether the CNN personalities that had become identified with left wing activism would still have a place at a network trumpeting its commitment to return to serious, measured news. We now know that in one prominent case, the answer is no.
“Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter had long been viewed as one of the key drivers of the overtly partisan shift that took place at CNN during the Trump presidency. He didn’t help his case that he could adapt to the network&#8217;s new mission when he sounded off about Malone’s views about CNN back in February before Zucker’s ouster. “The people who say the Zucker-era CNN was lacking in real journalism clearly were not watching CNN directly,&#8221; Stelter wrote in his <a href="https://view.newsletters.cnn.com/messages/1644209198071bb997b05542c/raw?utm_term=1644209198071bb997b05542c&amp;utm_source=cnn_Reliable+Sources+-+February+6%2C+2022&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;bt_ee=odX068KwXq6PCb%2BQ3p%2FMV0ulTnQCTVvtDMo1%2BJVvXNtbBO%2Fbn4X%2FXQJaN08QMkEJ&amp;bt_ts=1644209198085">newsletter</a>. &#8220;My best guess is that they were watching talking heads and reading columnists complain about CNN. And yes, I&#8217;m including John Malone in this.”
Stelter then added, “That phrasing – especially the words ‘actually have journalists,’ which implied CNN currently doesn&#8217;t – was highly offensive to many staffers. I reported on Sunday&#8217;s ‘Reliable’ that it was disturbing to Zucker, too. Malone&#8217;s comments stoked fears that Discovery might stifle CNN journalists and steer away from calling out indecency and injustice.&#8221;
So it’s hardly surprising Licht decided CNN shouldn’t “stifle” Stelter any longer.
Stelter’s misery may soon have company though. Rumors are flying that CNN’s morning programming will also soon be receiving an overhaul and Jim Acosta, the reporter who made his name with rude antics during the Trump administration’s White House briefings, could soon join Stelter on the unemployment line.
Insiders say that no one’s job is safe right now and Licht is in the middle of an evaluation of the entire organization, including talent and executives. “He’s determined to tamp down spectacle and has discouraged the presentation of content in an alarmist fashion,” a source told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-cnn-boss-christ-licht-determined-tamp-down-spectacle-evaluates-who-should-stick-around">Fox News</a>.
The message seems to be getting through as formerly openly leftist anchors at CNN are suddenly playing it straight.
In June, regular Don Lemon viewers were shocked when he pressed White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre for answers about President Biden’s health and mental fitness, asking if he had the “stamina” to run for office again.
The spokeswoman seemed surprised to receive such a question from a previously friendly source and struggled to provide an answer, saying, “That is not a question that we should be even asking,”
Lemon later defended his sudden shift into the kind of traditional, adversarial questions reporters used to ask White House press secretaries. &#8220;I&#8217;m sure [Biden] is up to the job,” he said in defense of his question, “but it is my job as a journalist to ask.&#8221;

CNN Headquarters In Atlanta

CNN’s New Boss Cleans House To Return Far-Left Network To Straight-News Roots

Brian Stelter

Leftism

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cnn">CNN</a> is in secret talks to poach the husband and wife “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/morning-joe">Morning Joe</a>” team from rival liberal news network <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/msnbc">MSNBC</a>, according to a report.
CNN’s already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-ratings-collapse-fox-news-dominates-again">dismal ratings</a> have continued their freefall under new boss Chris Licht, who took over in February for scandalized Jeff Zucker. Licht, who is a former executive producer at MSNBC and also a former CBS News veteran, is reportedly aiming to shore up the morning roster with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-scarborough">Joe Scarborough</a> and Mika Brzezinski, according to <a href="https://radaronline.com/p/cnn-joe-scarborough-mika-brzezinski-poaching-msnbc/">RadarOnline</a>.
“When CBS hired Chris, he wanted to hire Joe and Mika to head up his morning show instead of Gayle King,” a source told the outlet. “Joe and Mika were into it, but they couldn’t get out of their deal with NBC. Now Chris is pulling the same trick again as he starts his new job at CNN hoping this time, he will be able to pull it off.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Pouring gas on a burning building Alert 🚨 
CNN&#39;s new boss Chris Licht is wooing Morning Joe stars Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski to join the ailing network as he prepares to wield ax to &#39;fix morning and primetime programing&#39; <a href="https://t.co/sL1GjL5Exn">https://t.co/sL1GjL5Exn</a>
&mdash; Ghosted Hippie 👻 Told/You/So (@GhostedHippie) <a href="https://twitter.com/GhostedHippie/status/1549972761791045632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Scarborough, a former Republican congressman from Florida who has become increasingly liberal, and Brzezinski, the daughter of President Carter’s national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, have teamed up for their show since 2007. Although both were married to other people when the show began, they later left their spouses and were married in 2018.
Although its ratings are dwarfed by “Fox &amp; Friends,” “Morning Joe,” which airs from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET, is considered influential among Beltway liberals.
It is not known how much NBC pays the couple, but <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2013/10/11/joe-scarborough-divorce-settlement-salary-morning-joe-msnbc/">Scarborough reportedly earned $5 million per year</a> from the show nearly a decade ago, according to records from his divorce.
Peeling the duo away from MSNBC won’t be easy, a source told RadarOnline.
&#8220;It is unlikely MSNBC will let them out of their contract, but Chris is a patient man,” the source said.
Licht was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-cnn-boss-doesnt-want-staffers-saying-the-big-lie-report">appointed president</a> of CNN in February, after longtime chief Jeff Zucker was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-blasted-after-zucker-resigns-over-relationship-with-colleague-industry-insiders-suggest-more-to-story">ousted for hiding an affair</a> he had with a woman he hired and repeatedly promoted. Zucker and his paramour were also <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/02/the-zucker-cuomo-saga-just-got-even-messier">accused of scheming</a> with then-Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) to burnish his image as a leader during the COVID pandemic. But their efforts backfired spectacularly when Cuomo’s brother and CNN anchor Chris Cuomo became entangled in his brother’s sexual harassment scandal. The network <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-cuomo-was-fired-after-cnn-learned-of-alleged-sex-assault-during-lunch-in-his-office-report">fired him</a>, and he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-cuomo-demands-125-million-from-cnn-cuomos-journalistic-integrity-unjustifiably-smeared">sued for $125 million</a>.
Licht has signaled he wants to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-might-dump-overtly-partisan-talent-report">revamp the network and get rid</a> of its most hyper-partisan, liberal talent. Pressure to get back to CNN’s roots as a bastion of straight news is believed to be coming from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-would-like-to-see-cnn-evolve-back-to-doing-news-actually-have-journalists-incoming-top-shareholder">John Malone</a>, a key shareholder in CNN’s parent company.
“We will reimagine our morning show leveraging our correspondents and unmatched resources in the U.S. and around the world to provide news that viewers need to know as they start their day,” Licht said.

Joe Scarborough

CNN In Secret Talks To Poach Star Couple From MSNBC: Report

CNN In Secret Talks To Poach 'Morning Joe' From MSNBC: Report

Mika Brzezinski

Morning Joe

MSNBC

CNN may be preparing to offload some of its more overtly partisan talent in a renewed effort to promote itself as a straight and unbiased news network.
According to a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/06/07/cnn-evaluating-partisan-talent-chris-licht">report</a> from Axios, new CNN chief <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/chris-wallace-brian-williams-may-replace-chris-cuomo-at-cnn-report/">Chris Licht</a> is &#8220;evaluating&#8221; the network&#8217;s stable of on-air talent, ostensibly to determine who will fit with programming tailored to be less partisan.
&#8220;CNN&#8217;s new boss, Chris Licht, is evaluating whether personalities and programming that grew polarizing during the Trump era can adapt to the network&#8217;s new priority to be less partisan,&#8221; Axios reported, adding that sources indicated jobs could be on the chopping block in the wake of those evaluations. &#8220;If talent cannot adjust to a less partisan tone and strategy, they could be ousted.&#8221;
Axios also noted that Licht appears ready to give current employees and on-air talent some room to prove that they can adapt to a less combative presentation, encouraging them to engage in thoughtful interviews with people on both sides of the aisle — something that got progressively rarer leading up to and during former President Donald Trump&#8217;s time in office.
And while former CNN head <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/how-jeff-zucker-turned-cnn-into-a-cult/">Jeff Zucker</a> — who <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/breaking-cnns-jeff-zucker-resigns-due-to-undisclosed-consensual-relationship-with-colleague/">resigned</a> after admitting to an undisclosed relationship — appeared to encourage a more partisan presentation, Licht has made it clear that he sees the network going in a completely <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/cnn-announces-new-programming-plan-and-elon-musk-is-already-on-board/">different direction</a>.
Toward that end, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/05/business/media/cnn-chris-licht.html">reported</a> on Sunday, the network plans to do away with snarky, partisan chyrons — and a much lighter touch on the &#8220;Breaking News&#8221; banner.
&#8220;CNN’s ubiquitous ‘Breaking News’ banner is gone, now reserved for instances of truly urgent events,&#8221; the NYT reported. &#8220;Snarky onscreen captions … are discouraged. Political shows are trying to book more conservative voices, and producers have been urged to ignore Twitter backlash from the far right and the far left.&#8221;
The Times also noted that Licht, whose last job was with &#8220;The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,&#8221; had jumped from the frying pan into the fire when he moved from managing a show that employed approximately 200 people to a major global network that employed around 4000 — and the report claimed that &#8220;some CNN journalists say they wonder if he can navigate a sprawling, unwieldy global news network past what has been a no good, very bad year.&#8221;
In addition to Zucker&#8217;s departure — which was followed closely by that of his paramour, Allison Gollust — CNN is fresh off the failed launch of fledgling streaming service CNN+. The network also fired one of its top prime time hosts — Chris Cuomo — amid allegations of sexual misconduct and the admission that he had advised his brother, former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), while he dealt with his own sexual harassment and assault allegations.

CNN Might Dump Overtly Partisan Talent: Report

CNN's Chris Licht Might Dump Overtly Partisan Talent: Axios Report

Axios

Former &#8220;Fox News Sunday&#8221; anchor Chris Wallace has reportedly landed on his feet — and back in the anchor chair — after the network&#8217;s fledgling streaming service CNN+ failed to launch.
According to a report published Wednesday by <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/18/chris-wallace-new-show-cnn">Axios</a>, Wallace is set to anchor a Sunday evening show on CNN. Two sources reportedly informed the outlet that Wallace, who was hosting an interview-based show four days a week prior to the rapid collapse of CNN+, will move back to a weekly show with the cable news giant. The report did not indicate what the format of Wallace&#8217;s new show would be.
Wallace initially <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/i-want-to-try-something-new-chris-wallace-is-leaving-fox-news-sunday-effective-immediately/">left Fox</a> in December, saying that he wanted to try something new after nearly two decades at that network.
&#8220;After 18 years, this is my final ‘Fox News Sunday,&#8217;” <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/chris-wallace-grills-jen-psaki-you-are-being-less-transparent-than-the-trump-administration/">Wallace</a> told his viewers on December 12. &#8220;It is the last time, and I say this with real sadness, we will meet like this &#8230; There’s a lot you can do on Sunday mornings. The fact that you’ve chosen to spend this hour with us is something I cherish. But after 18 years, I have decided to leave FOX. I want to try something new, to go beyond politics, to all of the things I’m interested in.&#8221;
Wallace later claimed that he had <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/unsustainable-chris-wallace-reveals-why-he-had-to-leave-fox-news/">ultimately decided</a> to leave Fox after the fallout from the 202o election, telling the New York Times, &#8220;I’m fine with opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion. But when people start to question the truth — Who won the 2020 election? Was Jan. 6 an insurrection? — I found that unsustainable. I spent a lot of 2021 looking to see if there was a different place for me to do my job.&#8221;
&#8220;Before, I found it was an environment in which I could do my job and feel good about my involvement at Fox,&#8221; Wallace continued. &#8220;And since November of 2020, that just became unsustainable, increasingly unsustainable as time went on.&#8221;
Within days after announcing his exit from Fox, Wallace had confirmed he was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ive-been-a-victim-chris-wallace-says-hes-in-good-shape-despite-cnn-implosion">going to CNN</a>, inking a multimillion-dollar deal to create a new show for the streaming service that had not yet launched.
But massive personnel shake-ups at CNN — up to and including the sudden resignation of former network chief Jeff Zucker and his paramour Allison Gollust — left the network in disarray heading into both the CNN+ launch and a planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Donald Trump And Joe Biden Participate In First Presidential Debate

Chris Wallace Lands Sunday Show On CNN: Report

Chris Wallace

Fox News Sunday

Warner Bros

Chris Cuomo, who spent years as the highest-rated anchor on low-rated CNN’s prime time roster, has filed a bombshell legal complaint, exposing numerous previously unknown scandals involving his former employer.
If Cuomo’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-cuomo-demands-125-million-from-cnn-cuomos-journalistic-integrity-unjustifiably-smeared">$125 million</a> arbitration request is to be believed, even the most cynical view of how CNN executives deliberately skewed the network’s political coverage against Republicans and in favor of Democrats, flouted journalistic ethics, and cozied up to powerful politicos for their own benefit is too kind.
Here are a few of the most damning allegations Chris Cuomo makes in his latest legal filings, which were obtained and <a href="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Cuomo-CNN-Arbitration-Demand-1.pdf">published</a> by Deadline.
1. CNN’s leaders advised then-Governor Andrew Cuomo — and gave him advice on &#8216;responding&#8217; to Trump 
Chris Cuomo first encountered real turbulence with CNN leaders when The Washington Post reported that he advised his brother, then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D), on how to handle numerous allegations of sexual harassment. The network later suspended him on the grounds that his role exceeded anything he disclosed. But Cuomo maintains not only that the network knew all about his role in helping his brother, but that the network brass advised Governor Cuomo themselves.
“Until May 2021, CNN never asked Cuomo to stop or curtail his efforts to assist his brother through the sexual harassment allegations, despite being fully aware of Cuomo’s role assisting him,” the filing says — an allegation it makes numerous times.
But then comes a new wrinkle according to Cuomo&#8217;s filing: Then-CNN President Jeff Zucker and his paramour Allison Gollust — Governor Cuomo’s former communications director — gave Governor Cuomo advice regarding his handling of COVID-19.
“Zucker and Gollust acted as advisors to Gov. Cuomo during this time by providing him with talking points and strategies for responding to statements made by then-President Donald Trump,” says Chris Cuomo’s legal brief.
Furthermore, Cuomo alleges that Gollust also gave advice to the governor about how to respond to the sexual harassment allegations. He cited a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cnn-probe-finds-allison-gollust-assisted-chris-cuomo-in-his-efforts-to-help-andrew-cuomo-11645829880">Wall Street Journal article</a> that notes Gollust “sent Chris Cuomo a sentence she said she would have added to a statement that Andrew Cuomo had issued earlier that day in February of last year, after an accuser went public.”
Gollust also asked Cuomo “whether one of Gov. Cuomo’s accusers had ever said publicly that Gov. Cuomo had never touched her, saying that CNN should report on such a statement if it had been made,” Cuomo’s legal complaint says.
Gollust strongly denied the charges through spokeswoman Risa Heller. “Allison Gollust never offered advice or counsel to Andrew Cuomo. Period,” Heller told WSJ. “If she wanted to advise the governor, she could have called or texted him directly (she didn’t).” Heller went on to call Gollust’s texts “mundane” and “innocuous” while dismissing the accusations as “farfetched.”
2. CNN arranged the questions Andrew Cuomo would be asked on the air 
Allison Gollust “agreed to pre-arrange questions for Gov. Cuomo in advance of interviews,” Chris Cuomo states. Then-Governor Cuomo had a longstanding relationship with Gollust, whom he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-cnn-exec-gollust-gleefully-texted-andrew-cuomo-trump">hired</a> as his communications director between her stints working with Zucker at NBC and CNN (October 2012 until March 2013). The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/18/business/media/allison-gollust-cnn-cuomo.html">reported</a> that before a March 2020 CNN interview:
<blockquote>Governor Cuomo had told a senior CNN executive, Allison Gollust, about subjects that he’d like to be asked about on air, according to several people familiar with the matter. Ms. Gollust, CNN’s longtime chief of communications and marketing and a former top aide of the governor, passed along the topics to CNN producers and then reported back to the governor.
“Done,” she wrote.</blockquote>
The newspaper of record noted it is “unusual” for a senior producer to be involved in this stage of the interview process, especially one involving a former employer. Even Gollust seemed to find the arrangement unusual, texting the governor, “I’m pretty sure I stopped being your publicist 8 years ago, but apparently I still am.” But Rolling Stone reported that Gollust praised Governor Cuomo after a CNN interview, “Well done . . . Cuomo-W. Trump-L.”
The interlude adds fuel to the notion that Gollust and Governor Cuomo’s relationship amounted to a never-ending quid pro quo. For instance, Gollust’s spokeswoman acknowledges that Gollust asked the governor to help a friend get past bureaucratic red tape in order to open a business.
Gollust once texted Cuomo, “I never ask you for favors, but . . .” Cuomo replied, “Yes, u do ask me for favors, and that’s okay. It’s mutual.” That favoritism apparently extended to CNN interviews. “The network brass’s interactions with the governor represented <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-perpetrated-the-worst-kind-of-journalistic-lapse-in-bashing-trump-promoting-andrew-cuomo-experts">the worst kind of journalistic lapse</a>,” wrote journalist Tatiana Siegel.
3. CNN told Chris Cuomo to conduct his &#8216;comedic&#8217; interviews with his brother
One of Chris Cuomo’s most controversial on-air interactions came during a series of interviews he conducted with his brother during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the height of Governor Cuomo’s popularity, as the media built him up as a competent Democratic alternative to President Donald Trump. But Chris Cuomo says he never wanted to perform any of the interviews; he and his brother were forced.
“Despite Cuomo’s and Gov. Cuomo’s expressed reservations, CNN demanded through its leadership that Cuomo interview Gov. Cuomo frequently.” That request came from Allison Gollust, who “communicated directly with Gov. Cuomo to tell him how ‘important’ it was to Zucker that Gov. Cuomo appear on Cuomo’s show,” alleges Chris Cuomo.
The younger Cuomo says he and his brother dutifully complied with the network’s order to appear together on camera as frequently as possible. “Indeed, between March 19, 2020 and June 24, 2020, Gov. Cuomo appeared on Cuomo’s program nine times. These interviews became wildly popular among viewers, and CNN benefited enormously from the resulting ratings bonanza,” the complaint says.
The two brothers gave CNN viewers a rehash of the classic <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuyLbp1kQxY">Smothers Brothers’ sibling rivalry act</a> from the 1960s. Chris also engaged in prop comedy with multiple oversized Q-tips supposedly being used to test his brother for COVID-19. For his part, the governor yucked it up, calling himself “a cool dude in a loose mood.”
A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/05/business/media/brothers-cuomo-andrew-chris.html?smid=emshare.">New York Times article</a> of that era described Zucker as moving news in the direction of “reality television.” But NowThis News at the time <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHGhAIEqJcg">called</a> the brothers “America&#8217;s Favorite TV Family.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Best of The Cuomo Brothers: America&#039;s Favorite TV Family During Coronavirus | NowThis" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vHGhAIEqJcg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
4. CNN brass hinted they would fire Chris Cuomo if Andrew Cuomo appeared on other networks
Jeffrey Zucker and Allison Gollust supposedly used Chris Cuomo’s employment as a bargaining chip to keep Governor Andrew Cuomo from appearing on other networks — and to maximize the then-popular governor’s appearances on CNN. “CNN, through executives Zucker and Zucker’s second-in- command, Allison Gollust … made a concerted effort to cement and strengthen the network’s ties to Gov. Cuomo and his administration and control his media presence for CNN’s exclusive benefit. CNN pushed Gov. Cuomo not to appear on other networks, intimating that not honoring CNN’s request might threaten [Chris] Cuomo’s professional standing with the network,” the legal complaint says.
The network also allegedly “requested that Gov. Cuomo hold his daily COVID-19 press conference at a time that was most suitable for the network based on its program schedule and when its ratings were weakest.” The time when CNN’s “ratings were weakest” should have given Governor Cuomo a significant range of time to choose from.
5. CNN execs used their relationship with Governor Cuomo to get COVID-19 tests
An early Chris Cuomo scandal occurred when he was accused of gaining access to highly sought-after COVID-19 rapid tests thanks to his family connections to the governor. It later emerged that Chris Cuomo was offered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-cuomo-was-offered-early-access-to-covid-19-treatment">human blood</a> plasma from a donor who had recovered from COVID-19, an experimental treatment before the vaccine became available. But Chris Cuomo’s legal filings say CNN network executives exploited their proximity to Governor Andrew Cuomo for the same purpose. “Notably, for years CNN did not discipline Gollust or Zucker for their egregious violations of CNN policy, including both Gollust and Zucker using their privileged access to Gov. Cuomo to secure COVID tests,” Cuomo says.
6. CNN has no journalistic ethics
Chris Cuomo’s arbitration complaint establishes numerous allegations that CNN had no real journalistic code of ethics. Zucker selectively applied rules to shield favored commentators and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-fires-rick-santorum-after-he-claimed-founding-fathers-birthed-a-nation-from-nothing">punish disfavored employees</a> (especially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rick-santorums-firing-proves-cnn-doesnt-want-to-hear-anyone-who-sounds-like-you">political conservatives</a>):
<blockquote>CNN has a long-established pattern and practice of selectively enforcing its policies based on cynical calculations of public perception. Indeed, CNN fostered a culture in which ‘exceptions’ to the network’s standards and practices were routinely sanctioned, and that culture began at the top with Zucker and Gollust. As long as CNN’s ratings would not be hurt, Zucker and Gollust were more than willing to overlook major transgressions by CNN personalities such as Don Lemon and Jake Tapper, or even to engage in blatant misconduct themselves.</blockquote>
Cuomo notes that actor Jussie Smollett said during his trial that CNN&#8217;s Don Lemon told him that Chicago police did not believe his tale that angry men attacked him and threw a noose around his neck as they shouted, “This is MAGA country!” Cuomo mentions CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin’s restoration at the network following his “sordid act of sexual harassment.”
Interestingly, Chris Cuomo cites Fox News as a — to coin a phrase — reliable source when it comes to the activities of his former CNN colleagues. “Fox News reported on September 10, 2020 that CNN anchor Jake Tapper had repeatedly urged Congressional candidate Sean Parnell not to run against Rep. Conor Lamb, but to run in a ‘safer,’ more heavily Republican district,” Cuomo’s complaint notes, adding that the network took no action against Tapper.
This author reported allegations that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-cnn-employee-says-outlet-has-no-real-ethical-code">CNN has no real ethical code</a> and tilted its journalistic ethics as it saw fit. “You won’t see any rules that are etched in stone so that a violation could be a firing offense,” said Steve Holmes, who spent a decade at CNN before retiring during Zucker’s tenure at CNN. “They can’t say that [Cuomo]’s violated any written policies because there aren’t any, period.” Cuomo essentially endorsed that view, saying, “CNN fostered a culture in which the network’s standards and practices were a constantly moving target, modified at CNN executives’ discretion as they saw fit.”
7. Chris Cuomo thinks he has journalistic integrity
Chris Cuomo’s phenomenal $125 million figure comes, because he’s seeking the remaining $15 million due to him under the terms of his contract, plus $110 million in damages against CNN. The reason? From now on, no one will take him seriously as a journalist.
“Cuomo has had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-cuomo-demands-125-million-from-cnn-cuomos-journalistic-integrity-unjustifiably-smeared">his journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared</a>,” his legal complaint stated. “As a direct result of CNN’s calculated efforts to tar and feather him, Cuomo is now untouchable in the world of broadcast journalism, effectively bringing his storied career to a premature end and costing him decades of earnings, exceeding $125 million in consequential damages.”
The use of the word “untouchable” may be ironic. But so, too, are his claims of journalism. In 2020, Tucker Carlson released a tape of Chris Cuomo coaching Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen on how to answer questions at the network. The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tucker-carlson-releases-bombshell-tape-of-cuomo-coaching-cohen-on-how-to-answer-interview-questions">reported</a> Carlson’s summary of the tape:
<blockquote>“Michael Cohen was worried about doing the interview because he knew he’d get questions about the payments he made to Stormy Daniels. He wanted Chris Cuomo to tell him what to say,” Carlson continued. “Now on TV, Cuomo might’ve launched into a lecture about how it’s wrong to send money to strippers, but in private, he skipped that lecture.”
“‘You will be asked that,’ Chris Cuomo told Michael Cohen, and you can say, ‘I did it for him, for Donald Trump. My relationship has always been for him. I’ve always said I don’t speak for the campaign, I speak for him as his attorney,&#8217;” Carlson continued. “Cuomo went on to elaborate, ‘And to the question of motive,’ he told Cohen, ‘the response would have to be, you can speculate as to why you think I did it all day long, but the only answer is my answer, and I just told you why I did it. You don’t get to speculate because if you can’t prove that I got paid back by Trump or the campaign, it is slander and defamation for you to say that I did.&#8217;”</blockquote>
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Tucker uncovers more audio between CNN&#039;s Chris Cuomo and Michael Cohen" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kKns1YmjQzc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Reflections
All of the foregoing is offered with the caveat that this comes from Chris Cuomo’s legal complaint. It may well be false; given Cuomo’s journalistic standards, one would hardly be surprised. But this reporter has included the few responses the subjects have offered; for the most part, they have refused public comment. And the discerning viewer needed no internal document to know something was rotten during Zucker’s highly contentious tenure as network president, which saw the fall of CNN’s ratings eclipsed only by its journalistic integrity, balance, and reliability — a fall Cuomo’s legal brief confirms in every particular.

The 7 Most Underreported CNN Scandals In Chris Cuomo’s Legal Complaint

Andrew Cuomo

Former CNN host Chris Cuomo is out to settle scores and collect millions of dollars in damages. On Wednesday, he entered a complaint against his former network, demanding $125 million — 15 million in lost salary and $110 million in further reparations and damages. The network’s former top-rated personality said the circumstances of his firing last December left his “journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared.”
He also alleges that CNN executives Jeff Zucker and Allison Gollust knew about the full extent of his role advising then-<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-fall-of-andrew-cuomo-how-an-empire-built-on-fear-came-crashing-down">New York Governor Andrew Cuomo</a> (D), and even “acted as advisors to Gov. Cuomo during this time” themselves. Chris Cuomo says after his separation from the network, CNN personalities — including Zucker, Brian Stelter, Don Lemon, Jake Tapper, and Anderson Cooper — “openly disparaged Cuomo in violation” of his 2019 contract.
Cuomo filed a demand for arbitration that says the network owes him $14,406,250 in base pay for the remaining 19 months left on his contract, not including bonuses. The <a href="https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Cuomo-CNN-Arbitration-Demand-1.pdf">filing</a>, which was obtained by Deadline, also requests “damages sufficient to allow Cuomo to recover his damages as proven at trial, but in no event less than $125 million.”
His attorneys justify such a high dollar figure on the grounds that &#8220;Cuomo has had his journalistic integrity unjustifiably smeared, making it difficult if not impossible for Cuomo to find similar work in the future and damaging him in amounts exceeding $125 million” in penalties and “future wages lost as a result of CNN’s efforts to destroy his reputation.&#8221;
Then-CNN President Jeffrey Zucker claimed to have been blindsided by new revelations of how closely the “Cuomo Prime Time” host advised his brother during a cascade of sexual harassment allegations last year. Zucker placed Cuomo on leave last November 30, pending the outcome of an investigation. Three days later, the network fired him.
But the host’s attorneys say that “Cuomo fully complied with CNN’s standards and practices, including by keeping CNN executives apprised of his actions at all times.” That proved difficult, because “CNN fostered a culture in which the network’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-cnn-employee-says-outlet-has-no-real-ethical-code">standards and practices were a constantly moving target</a>, modified at CNN executives’ discretion as they saw fit,” Cuomo’s attorneys claim.
Cuomo says Zucker’s actions proved doubly dishonest, because he and Gollust provided Governor Cuomo with “talking points and strategies for responding to statements made by then-President Donald Trump” during this time frame. Through a spokeswoman, Gollust denies these charges, calling her exchanges “innocuous” and “mundane,” according to the filing.
Chris Cuomo also helped his brother <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-cuomo-helped-gov-andrew-cuomo-spin-nursing-home-deaths">spin allegations</a> that his administration lied about the number of senior citizens who died of COVID-19 in nursing homes, according to newly-released emails obtained by the New York Post.
Cuomo’s filing includes seven pages of complaints about the actions of Cuomo’s former colleagues questioning Cuomo’s integrity, motives, and ethics. Brian Stelter, who has long enjoyed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-needs-to-step-up-and-fire-brian-stelter-cnn-insider">close relationship with Zucker</a>, accused Cuomo of “trying to burn the place down” with his charges. Don Lemon, with whom Cuomo would banter for up to 15 minutes nightly during their hand-off at 10 p.m. Eastern, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-love-you-brother-don-lemon-says-cnn-shouldnt-pay-chris-cuomos-severance">argued against paying Cuomo’s severance</a> because it would prove Cuomo could “break with those journalistic standards and then get paid handsomely for it.” Still others made anonymous statements to media outlets.
Chris Cuomo has kept a low profile since leaving the network a little more than three months after his brother resigned from office over sexual harassment charges.
Andrew Cuomo has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/andrew-cuomo-considers-political-comeback-by-running-for-governor-of-new-york-report">launched</a> a minor political comeback, telling a New York City church that <a href="https://www.christianpost.com/news/andrew-cuomo-tells-church-gods-not-finished-with-me-yet.html">he was a victim</a> of “cancel culture.” This filing may be the beginning of his brother’s comeback.
Zucker, too, has tried to cash in after being ousted from the network last month. CNN has reportedly agreed to compensate Zucker somewhere between <a href="https://pagesix.com/2022/03/09/jeff-zucker-reportedly-left-cnn-with-5-million-payment/">$5 million</a> and <a href="https://money.yahoo.com/jeff-zucker-reaches-10-million-214100111.html">$10 million</a>.

Chris Cuomo Demands $125 Million From CNN: Cuomo’s ‘Journalistic Integrity Unjustifiably Smeared’

Don Lemon

CNN, which prides itself on being “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/can-partisanship-and-profanity-save-cnn-from-its-ratings-collapse">the most trusted name in news</a>,” committed the most fundamental violations of journalistic ethics in its efforts to bash President Donald Trump and portray then-<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-fall-of-andrew-cuomo-how-an-empire-built-on-fear-came-crashing-down">New York Governor Andrew Cuomo</a> (D) in a positive light, a new exposé in Rolling Stone states. CNN network brass engaged in a “consistent exchange of favors” with Cuomo and boasted their coverage resulted in “Cuomo-W. Trump-L.”
The article also reveals that the scandal-plagued former governor, who resigned after nearly a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment, told Jeff Zucker’s mistress that they engaged in “mutual” exchange of favors — and that he wanted to be her “pool boy.”
“The network brass’s interactions with the governor represented the worst kind of journalistic lapse,” wrote Tatiana Siegel in the article, which ran on Friday, summarizing the consensus of numerous ethicists. One of them, University of Missouri journalism professor Ryan Thomas, said CNN’s interactions with former Governor Cuomo constitute “one of the most clear-cut ethical breaches you could think of.”
At the center of the controversy is Allison Gollust, a former CNN executive whose personal relationship with Jeff Zucker cost them both their jobs at the network.
Cuomo, Gollust, and Zucker enjoy a long, symbiotic relationship going back at least a decade. Gollust had <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/allison-gollust-woman-relationship-ex-cnn-chief-jeff-zucker-also-resig-rcna16408">worked</a> with Zucker at NBCUniversal <a href="https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/communications-chief-to-depart-nbc/?smid=pl-share">until 2011</a>. After she left the network, then-Governor Cuomo <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-cnn-exec-gollust-gleefully-texted-andrew-cuomo-trump">hired</a>Gollust as his communications director from October 2012 until March 2013, when she rejoined Zucker at CNN.
When President Donald Trump threatened to quarantine New York to stop the spread of COVID-19 in March 2020, text messages obtained by Rolling Stone show that Cuomo texted Gollust, “Ask Jeff to call me plz.”
Within hours, Cuomo forcefully told Ana Cabrera that such a quarantine would cause the stock market to “drop like a stone” and decimate the U.S. economy “for months, if not years.”
After the interview, Gollust texted Cuomo, “Well done . . . Cuomo-W. Trump-L.”
She also told Cuomo, “I’m pretty sure I stopped being your publicist 8 years ago, but apparently I still am.”
A Democratic operative told the magazine that the relationship between Cuomo and Gollust involved an inappropriate level of quid pro quo. “It was clear that she leveraged the relationship … There was a consistent exchange of favors between them.” Gollust’s spokeswoman acknowledges that Gollust asked the governor to help a friend expediate the bureaucratic regulations necessary to open a business. Gollust once texted Cuomo, “I never ask you for favors, but . . .”
Cuomo replied, “Yes, u do ask me for favors, and that’s okay. It’s mutual.”
Gollust “was a key player in Cuomogate, providing talking points to the governor — for whom she worked briefly between stints with Zucker,” notes Siegel. She added that Zucker helped “foster a toxic culture at two networks” (CNN and NBC) and “fan the flames of the disinformation age along the way.”
The CEO of CNN’s current parent company, Jason Kilar, said an investigation “found violations of Company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo.”
Andrew Cuomo and Allison Gollust also engaged in flirtatious texts, Rolling Stone <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/jeff-zucker-cnn-resign-affair-cuomo-trump-1319698/">reports</a>:
<blockquote>In early 2020, several months after his split from partner Sandra Lee, Cuomo asked Gollust, “You don’t want to see me now that I’m single?” She replied, “A drink with you would be the best date I’ve had in a while.” Four months later, he fired off a text to Gollust suggesting he be her “pool boy.” She responded that she’d welcome that scenario, and they set up a call. When their texting resumed, Gollust wrote, “That was fun. Sleep well.”</blockquote>
Both parties deny they had any physical relationship, with Gollust’s spokeswoman calling the allegations of an affair with Andrew Cuomo “disgusting, sexist, and patently false.”
Cuomo appears to be launching a political comeback after resigning as governor of New York last August, shortly after New York Attorney General Letitia James released a <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2021.08.03_nyag_-_investigative_report.pdf">165-page report</a> documenting that 11 women accused the governor of sexual harassment. Their allegations ranged from claiming Governor Cuomo fondled a woman’s breast under her clothes, groped multiple women’s buttocks over their clothes, or asked inappropriate questions about having sex with an older man. James’ report cited 70,000 pieces of evidence.
“<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-do-it-with-everyone-andrew-cuomo-defends-himself-at-press-conference-refuses-to-resign">I do it with everyone</a>,” Cuomo said in his defense.

CNN Perpetrated The ‘Worst Kind Of Journalistic Lapse’ In Bashing Trump, Promoting Andrew Cuomo: Experts

CNN&#8217;s Allison Gollust expressed her frustration over the way WarnerMedia sought to &#8220;change the media narrative&#8221; over her resignation regarding her relationship with former network President Jeff Zucker.
A copy of Gollust&#8217;s email to CNN staff was shared on Twitter by Dylan Byers from the Puck on Tuesday that claimed the network&#8217;s move was &#8220;an attempt to retaliate&#8221; against her.
&#8220;WarnerMedia&#8217;s statement tonight is an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks. It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN&#8217;s highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave,&#8221; she wrote.
&#8220;But I do so with my head held high, knowing that I gave my heart and soul to working with the finest journalists in the world. I will be in touch with each of you soon. In the meantime, please know that this has been the greatest experience of my life, working with each of you,&#8221; Gollust added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/w1xv9D4Gam">pic.twitter.com/w1xv9D4Gam</a>
&mdash; Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) <a href="https://twitter.com/DylanByers/status/1493759896910663682?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Earlier Tuesday, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced Gollust&#8217;s resignation in an email to CNN staff members.
“Earlier today, Allison Gollust resigned from CNN following the conclusion of the Company’s investigation into issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former Governor Andrew Cuomo,” Kilar wrote.
“Performed by a third-party law firm and led by a former federal judge, the investigation was comprehensive and definitive. It was commissioned in September and concluded this weekend, which now allows me to share additional information with you. Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails, the investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN’s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo,” Kilar continued.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Brand new memo from Jason Kilar: &quot;The investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN&#39;s News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/Xu1HQJw9cT">pic.twitter.com/Xu1HQJw9cT</a>
&mdash; Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) <a href="https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1493744302127820800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-allison-gollust-out-at-cnn-after-investigation-reveals-violations-by-top-execs-chris-cuomo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Gollust&#8217;s resignation, stating:
<blockquote>Zucker resigned from the company weeks before after the investigation revealed that he and Gollust were in an undisclosed relationship. CNN fired Cuomo in December for aiding his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, formulate a media strategy and respond to multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
“I realize this news is troubling, disappointing, and frankly, painful to read. These are valid feelings many of you have,” Kilar wrote. “We have the highest standards of journalistic integrity at CNN, and those rules must apply to everyone equally. Given the information provided to me in the investigation, I strongly believe we have taken the right actions and the right decisions have been made.”
“I am asking in this moment that we all commit to the vital mission we share and the values that define us. CNN, WarnerMedia, and this incredible team deserve that commitment,” he concluded.</blockquote>
The three top CNN leaders are not the only ones to face departures under difficult circumstances recently. The network also had two former producers <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/cnn-producer-under-criminal-investigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested</a> in separate child sex allegations in 2021.
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