In an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday night, CNN's chief media correspondent Brian Stelter again beclowned himself while trying to do damage control for his network as criticism swirls over what fellow anchor Chris Cuomo did to advise and assist his embattled brother and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
"Well, I was sleeping, I took a nap, I slept through it," Stelter told Colbert when asked about Andrew Cuomo's speech during which he announced his resignation. Stelter evidently, with his keen intuition and ability to analyze news, believed "there was no way" Governor Cuomo was going to resign.
"In a small way, your network is involved in this story because, of course, the Governor's brother Chris Cuomo has his show," said Colbert pointing to the inherent conflict in a network anchor advising an embattled public figure being covered by the same network.
"The New York Times has just reported, or a report just dropped, because it had been alleged that [Chris Cuomo] had helped his brother with his communications team. The New York Times is reporting that that's true, Chris was helping his brother. Has that created any conflict over at CNN, behind closed doors are people mad at him or is he in trouble?" Colbert asked.
.@CNN’s media reporter @brianstelter says of the network’s much-criticized handling of the @ChrisCuomo-@NYGovCuomo conflict:
— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) August 11, 2021
“If we open up the journalism ethics book, there is no page for this. It’s the craziest set of circumstances you can imagine.”pic.twitter.com/oleGUiiS6Y
"Some people are mad at him," admitted Stelter. "By the way I can confirm the New York Times report, I'll confirm it for your viewers. I also have a source that says Chris was on the phone with his brother this week."
"Is your source Chris Cuomo?" Colbert interrupted.
"He is not, he is not, you've got to have boundaries, you've got to draw a line," Stelter responded.
"Why? He doesn't!" interjected Colbert.
"I think he does, actually," Stelter countered.
Really?" asked Colbert skeptically.
Stelter tried to use the guidelines CNN executives put in place for Chris Cuomo — regarding coverage of his brother — to prove ethical lines existed to maintain some modicum of credibility, but Colbert pointed out that CNN's rules governing Chris Cuomo's coverage of Andrew Cuomo took effect only after allegations of the Governor's sexual harassment began to pile up.
"Why didn't they rule that way when his brother was on the show pretty much every night during the COVID crisis — that seems like an odd conflict of rules," questioned Colbert.
"It is an odd conflict," Stelter conceded, "but I don't think — if we open up the journalism ethics book, there's no page for this. It's the craziest set of circumstances you can imagine," Stelter tried to explain, acting more as crisis comms flack than CNN anchor, adding "this was definitely awkward for CNN."
Stelter could’ve declined to do the Colbert interview. Always an option. He could have decided that, as a media reporter, critiquing his colleagues and bosses in good faith, is actually a vital aspect of his job. Instead, he’s a publicist disguised as a journalist. https://t.co/3Cn8j8nTZE
— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) August 11, 2021
"I tried to go into this thinking, ok, if I was going to cover this at CBS how would I cover it, and tried to cover it the same way," explained Stelter in a typical display of journalistic virtue signaling. "I talked to a lot of sources at CNN, some said 'yeah, this is really weird, I'm ticked off at Chris,' others said 'you know, I understand you can't pick who your family members are.' So there was a wide range of opinions."
"Overall, I think what was most important is that we covered the story on-air just the same we would any other story. Ultimately isn't that what matters?" Stelter asked to no applause from Colbert's studio audience.
If Sean Hannitys brother was the gropey governor he consulted for, Stelter wouldn't think this is so complicated.
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) August 11, 2021