Tatiana Siegel reports in Rolling Stone that Jeff Zucker and Allison Gollust may have been advising Andrew Cuomo at the same time that Chris Cuomo was driving his own career into a ditch by doing more or less the same thing. She indirectly quotes a source familiar with the workings of an investigation into Chris Cuomo’s behavior:
The source says the investigation suggests Zucker and Gollust were advising the governor at the beginning of the Covid pandemic in ways not dissimilar to what led to Chris Cuomo’s dismissal. As Andrew sparred on a daily basis with then-President Trump over Covid messaging, the couple provided the governor with talking points on how to respond to the president’s criticisms of the New York crisis. They also booked the governor to appear on the network exclusively, which became a ratings boon for CNN, with Chris Cuomo doing the interviewing. Cuomo and Gollust’s conduct, too, would appear to mark an ethical breach for executives acting on behalf of an impartial news outlet.
The source does not appear to be claiming that Zucker and Gollust were advising Andrew Cuomo on how to handle the sexual-harassment allegations that eventually led to his resignation as governor; that came later. Still, the behavior described by the source is wildly inappropriate. Much more to come, no doubt.
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Here’s what I don’t quite understand in this whole thing…
Two highly skilled adults working for the same organization have a consensual erotic relationship and that is grounds for dismissal…of the guy?
Interesting…are only men required to list their “connections” to colleagues but it’s okay for women to not reveal them?
Must relationships be noted, in writing, after the first night or do one night stands not count?
How many successful marriages started as a man and a woman came to know one another over time in the workplace? Is one able to assess the character and competence of another person better in a bar or in an office?
I’m not excusing the Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Donald Trump types. Not by a long shot. Their behavior was atrocious. But CNN’s policy seems like a very strange form of Corporate Puritanism.
Jim, the Rolling Stone story is the first indication that there’s a lot more to it than that. Stay tuned!
If you insist…