Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE
A former host for CNN is calling on the network to replace Chris Cuomo, who was fired on Saturday over an ethics scandal involving his disgraced brother Andrew Cuomo, with a woman.
“Just like so many of you I saw the news on Saturday about a sudden change in CNN primetime, and I have no comment on that decision,” Brooke Baldwin said Sunday in a video posted to her Instagram account. “But just as someone, as a woman who worked there for over a decade who has the utmost respect for my former colleagues, I just wanted to share something with you today, and that is when I saw the news pop onto my phone, I did something I hadn’t done since I left that place. I went back and I rewatched my parting words on my last newscast back in April.”
During that final newscast, Baldwin talked about what she saw as a lack of opportunity for women at the struggling, little-watched network.
“The most influential anchors on our network, the highest-paid, are men. My bosses, my executives, are men. The person who oversees CNN day side is a man, and my executive producer for 10 years is a man. So I’ve been surrounded by a lot of men,” Baldwin said then.
She went on to repeat those observations in her video.
“What’s happening now creates this opportunity, which is exactly what I was talking about. And so, I’ll say it. I would like to see CNN put a woman in that 9 p.m. spot. Not me, I’ve moved on, but there are plenty of brilliant women they could choose from,” she continued.
“The way we change the game for us is to put more women, brown, black, white women in positions of power,” she added. “And yes, of course, we need more seats at the table, but we also need to build a better, more inclusive table.
“And CNN primetime has been dominated by male hosts, and y’all, it’s nearly 2022. Wouldn’t you like to see a woman successfully lead in primetime?” she asked.
In late November, the network announced it had obtained “thousands of pages of additional transcripts and exhibits” from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office pertaining to her investigation into nearly a dozen sexual harassment allegations against then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), many of which were substantiated.
The documents revealed that Chris Cuomo, who had already admitted to helping his brother combat the allegations, actually played a much larger role than he had initially said.
“We will be having conversations and seeking additional clarity about their significance as they relate to CNN over the next several days,” the network announced Nov. 29, before eventually suspending Cuomo and then firing him on Saturday.
The New York AG documents also revealed that Cuomo used his media contacts as well in an attempt to cover for his brother’s sex scandals.
“Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother’s defense. We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately,” CNN noted in a statement Saturday.
“While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate,” the statement added.
Jon has over 30 years' worth of reporting experience, as well as an author and U.S. Army veteran. He has a BA in political science from Ashford University and an MA in national security studies/intelligence analysis from American Military University.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.