The Atlantic slams CNN's Cuomo-Cuomo 'act' for pursuing ratings over journalism

The Atlantic magazine took CNN to task for its ongoing interviews between its anchor Chris Cuomo and his brother, Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

While the "Cuomo Prime Time" host has had the governor on his show 10 times since his brother became a prominent figure in the nation's fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the latest interview sparked major backlash since the CNN anchor chose to conduct prop comedy instead of addressing the growing nursing home controversy in New York that has heightened scrutiny towards his politician brother.

Atlantic staff writer David Graham acknowledged that the on-air exchanges between the Cuomo brothers were "entertaining" as they "dredged up old beefs," but as the interviews became "must-watch TV" for CNN, "accountability for New York’s troubled response to the crisis" was lost in the process.

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"The bigger problem is the ethical one that the strictest scolds foresaw in the first place," Graham wrote. "As a clearer picture of New York’s handling of the pandemic emerges, it’s evident that the perception of Andrew Cuomo’s competence and the reality of his performance are at odds. And yet, in his most high-profile media appearances during the worst of the pandemic, the governor was not being grilled on the Empire State’s failings. Instead, Chris Cuomo was trying to pin him down on whether his brother’s supposedly heroic leadership might make him think about running for president."

Graham offered a defense for the Cuomos and for CNN, saying that "no one should begrudge the brothers their love for one another" nor is it wrong for the network to "seek higher ratings."

"The goal of journalism is to convey information, and the greater the audience, the better that information spreads. The problem comes when the efforts to juice ratings start to get in the way of accurate journalism that holds officials accountable," Graham explained.

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The Atlantic journalist then pointed out how other states "have performed much better than New York in the face of the pandemic," but that their governors "haven’t gotten the same kind of adoring media attention."

"If they wanted to share the spotlight, perhaps Governors Jay Inslee of Washington and Mike DeWine of Ohio should have considered having brothers with plum TV gig," Graham quipped.