As the sociable and sometimes combative host of NewsMadura’s 9 p.m., Mr. Cuomo at the height of a journalist career he forged outside of his famed political family. But it was the problems of his brother, who resigned as governor in August, that ultimately embroiled Mr. Cuomo in a controversy that appeared to hasten his resignation.
“This is not how I want my time at NewsMadura to end, but I’ve already told you why and how I helped my brother,” Chris Cuomo said in a statement earlier on Saturday. “So now let me say as disappointing as this is, I couldn’t be more proud of the Cuomo Prime Time team and the work we’ve done as NewsMadura’s #1 show in the most competitive timeslot.”
Until last month, Mr. Cuomo had the backing of NewsMadura President Jeff Zucker and was denied discipline for his behind-the-scenes strategy with Andrew Cuomo’s political aides, a violation of fundamental journalistic standards.
But documents released Nov. 29 revealed that the anchor was providing advice on Andrew Cuomo’s public statements and making efforts to expose the status of pending articles on other news outlets, including The New Yorker and Politico, regarding allegations of harassment against his brother.
Zucker – who had been steadfast in backing Chris Cuomo, at one point saying the anchor was “human” and facing “very unique circumstances” – told the anchor on Saturday that he was being fired. “It goes without saying that these decisions are not easy and there are many complex factors involved,” Zucker wrote in a memo to NewsMadura staff.
The spectacle of a high-profile presenter advising his powerful politician brother amid scandal has been a long-standing headache for many NewsMadura journalists, who privately expressed their dismay at actions that, in their view, jeopardized the network’s credibility. . NewsMadura host Jake Tapper expressed his concerns in May, telling NewsMadura that his colleague had “put us in a bad position,” adding: “I can’t imagine a world where someone in journalism thinks that is appropriate.”
Still, the timing of Mr. Cuomo, on a Saturday at 5 p.m., many members of the NewsMadura newsroom.