Brotherly Love and Bias

According to CNN, brotherly banter outweighs impartiality.

Governor Cuomo was interviewed by his brother, Chris Cuomo, for a CNN interview (Lauricella, 2020). There were many different responses to their interview. Some found the interview entertaining because of the brotherly banter while others found the interview biased and criticized it for jeopardizing objectivity (Lauricella, 2020). This leads to the question, was it appropriate for Governor Cuomo to be interviewed by his brother?

Pech and Liebel (2006) argue that journalists must follow a social contract in order to remain impartial. The contract outlines what is reported, how information is reported, the goal, and the audience (Pech & Liebel, 2006). During the interview, the brothers spoke about their personal lives and acknowledged that Chris is not neutral when it comes to his brother. As a result of this, Chris broke the social contract when interviewing his brother (Pech & Liebel, 2006). This means that it was not appropriate for Governor Cuomo to be interviewed by his brother.

Although the brotherly banter between the Cuomos is entertaining to watch, it is not the priority of political and news interviews. Most people watch political news to be informed, not to be entertained. Political news interviews are typically expected to be professional and serious and, as a result, entertainment comes last.

If having the interview be entertaining was a priority, they could have found an unbiased interviewer who Governor Cuomo liked and was able to create a friendly banter with, it did not have to be his brother. Another solution to this issue would have been to have two interviewers, this way the brotherly banter continues but there is also an unbiased third party present to ensure that the interview is not compromised.

Governor Cuomo should not have been interviewed by his brother as objectivity is nearly impossible when there is a conflict of interest. There is no place for bias in political news.

References

Lauricella, S. (2020). Pandemic Prime Time for the Cuomo Brothers: Ethics, Objectivity, and Relationships in Journalism. Media Ethics Initiative. https://mediaengagement.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/80-Brothers-in-News-Case-Study.pdf

Pech, G. & Liebel, R. (2006). Writing in solidarity: Toward an ethic of care for Journalism. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 21(2&3), 141–155.