Media top headlines October 27
In media news today, Dave Chappelle gets praised for 'not bending' in response to transgender controversy, liberal news organizations sound the alarm on rising food prices ahead of Thanksgiving, and MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle grills the DNC chair on Democrats still running 'against Trump'
Journalist Katie Couric took a shot at CNN on Tuesday over allowing anchor Chris Cuomo to interview his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D., during the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an example of why people have lost trust in the press.
Couric told "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert that in order to "restore faith in the media," journalists should be more willing to admit mistakes, calling on her former networks NBC and CBS to hold themselves to account for various media scandals.
"I got one more, baby!" Couric said, eager to share her final point. "And, CNN should be able to say we shouldn't allow Chris Cuomo to yuk it up with his brother, the governor of New York, with a giant Q-tip in the middle of the pandemic because it's good TV. They should say, ‘We made a bad decision. That was wrong.' And I think it's really important for people to acknowledge when they probably have erred the wrong way."
"Amen!" an audience member shouted.
Chris Cuomo's chummy interviews with his brother last year have been widely criticized for their conflict of interest. The "Q-tip" moment was perhaps the most infamous, when Chris Cuomo brought out larger and larger ones to poke fun at the size of his brother's nose. Chris Cuomo unabashedly praised his brother's leadership during the COVID crisis, an opinion widely shared in the media at the time that even led to him writing a book about his achievements.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo performed prop comedy with his brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a widely panned segment in 2020.
CNN later admitted it had lifted its self-imposed rule against its star anchor interviewing his powerful brother because of the pandemic. The interviews came under greater scrutiny in 2021 as then-Gov. Cuomo came under fire for various scandals, including his nursing home coronavirus directives and accusations he covered up deaths from federal investigators.
The headaches for CNN only continued when reports revealed Chris Cuomo provided private political advice to his brother as he dealt with multiple sexual harassment allegations. They eventually forced him to resign in August.
CNN’s CHRIS CUOMO HEMORRHAGING FEMALE VIEWERS AMID SCANDAL-PLAGUED YEAR
On the rounds promoting her new memoir, Couric again discussed her reasoning behind leaving out some disparaging remarks by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg about national anthem protesters during their interview in 2016.
TV Host Katie Couric appears on stage at the Women in the World Summit in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)
Couric took heavy criticism for admitting she wanted to "protect" the liberal justice instead of airing her comments unvarnished. She said she would have included the full remarks if she could go back.
"I still question that choice. I think what I was trying to say is we all make judgment calls. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes they're wrong," she said. "Sometimes our own human emotion gets involved in it, and that's why I included it."
Katie Couric attends the New York premiere of the film "Sully" in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 6, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz (REUTERS/Darren Ornitz)
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It's not Couric's only known editing scandal. In 2016, her gun documentary edited out answers from gun rights supporters to one of her questions about background checks, giving the false impression they were dumbfounded.
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