CNN’s COVID coverage, Chris Cuomo led to viewer distrust, internal survey found
CNN’s sensationalist coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a lack of trust among viewers, according to an internal survey commissioned by the cable channel.
CNN boss Chris Licht had pointed to the survey as part of his criticism of the network’s coverage of the pandemic under his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, which was revealed last week in an in-depth account of Licht’s reign by The Atlantic.
“In the beginning it was a trusted source — this crazy thing, no one understands it, help us make sense of it. What’s going on?” Licht told The Atlantic.
“And I think then it got to a place where, ‘Oh wow, we gotta keep getting those ratings. We gotta keep getting the sense of urgency’.”
“People walked outside and they go, ‘This is not my life. This is not my reality. You guys are just saying this because you need the ratings, you need the clicks. I don’t trust you’,” Licht said.
Respondents cited an overall liberal bias as the top reason it didn’t trust CNN, according to the internal survey first reported by Semafor.
“We stand by and are proud of our comprehensive coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic,” a CNN spokesperson told The Post on Monday. “For more than two years, our journalists took CNN’s global audience inside hospitals, government agencies and the race to develop life-saving vaccines, treatments and tests.”
“Our award-winning body of work, like all of CNN’s reporting, was driven by our mission to inform audiences and help them make essential decisions for themselves and their families,” the spokesperson added.
The second most popular reason cited was “the Chris Cuomo situation,” according to Semafor.
Cuomo, the former host of “Cuomo Prime Time” on CNN, was let go by the network in late 2021 after it was learned that he provided communications advice to his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was accused by several women of sexual misconduct.
Chris Cuomo, who is now hosting a prime time show on NewsNation, was widely condemned for his softball interviews of his brother during the early days of the pandemic.
Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was widely praised for his leadership at the start of the crisis, but his administration was engulfed in scandal after it was learned that thousands died in nursing homes where the coronavirus spread rapidly, killing vulnerable residents.
The former governor’s decision to move infected patients from hospitals into nursing homes was blamed by many for their deaths.
Licht on Monday apologized to staffers who were fuming over the 9,000-word feature in The Atlantic, which quoted the CNN boss as panning the network’s pandemic coverage.
Licht was portrayed in The Atlantic as a thin-skinned boss who alienated rank-and-file employees with his aloof and increasingly paranoid management style as well as his criticism of Zucker.
In an editorial meeting on Monday, Licht apologized to staffers, saying “I should not be in the news.”
“I know these past few days have been very hard for this group,” Licht said.
His remarks were reported by ex-CNN host Brian Stelter on his Twitter feed.
“I fully recognize that this news cycle and my role in it overshadowed the incredible week of reporting that we just had, and distracted from the work of every single journalist in this org,” Licht told staff. “And for that, I am sorry.”
“As I read that article, I found myself thinking, CNN is not about me,” Licht continued. “I should not be in the news unless it’s taking arrows for you. Your work is what should be written about.”
Senior anchors, reporters, and correspondents at the ratings-challenged cable news channel are so fed up with Licht that they have reportedly been phoning newly installed chief operating officer David Leavy to gripe about the CEO, whose future with the network is said to be in doubt.
“He’s over,” one employee reportedly told Stelter, who quoted several disgruntled former colleague for an article that appeared in New York Magazine over the weekend.
“He’s done,” another CNN staffer told Stelter, who tweeted that employees at the network are “startled, angry, sad, and despondent.”
“There’s no coming back from that profile,” another CNN employee told Stelter.
“How can he lead us now?” another unnamed CNN staffer was quoted as saying.
The Post has sought comment from CNN and Chris Cuomo.
