Former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has been hired by emerging cable network NewsNation to host a primetime show this fall.
Cuomo appeared Tuesday night as a guest on Dan Abrams’ primetime show on NewsNation, his first television appearance since CNN fired him, just before the outlet announced his hiring. Cuomo discussed his new role at the network with Abrams and discussed the scandal that led to his firing last year.
“I think I have never been a victim of anything in my life. … I don’t feel sorry for myself,” Cuomo told Abrams. “You make decisions. You make the decision to be in this business. You make the decision to be in that dynamic and want to be relevant. And it won’t always be easy. It’s not always going to be fair.”
CNN suspended and then fired Cuomo in December, saying goodbye to its best prime-time anchor after it was discovered that he had misled executives at the cable news giant about his contacts with his brother Andrew Cuomo’s aides and journalists. covering the sexual harassment scandal. that led to the resignation of the former governor of New York.
“I never contacted any outlet that was covering my brother to try to affect their coverage,” Cuomo told Abrams on Monday. “I talk to people in the media all the time. They are most of the people in my life.”
Cuomo’s firing also came just days after CNN allegedly received a letter from a woman’s attorney who claimed the anchor had sexually assaulted her years ago.
Cuomo has denied those allegations and in March charged CNN with a $125 million arbitration claim, his attorneys arguing in a filing that his “journalistic integrity” had been “unjustifiably maligned” as a result of the firing, “making it difficult to if not impossible.” for Cuomo to find a similar job in the future.”
“None of this happened,” Cuomo said when pressed by Abrams about the woman’s allegation. “This will be part of the litigation. I denied it. I worry about paying attention to stories. I worry about distracting myself from what people are supposed to care about. All I can do is deny the accusations.”
The scandal involving Cuomo ultimately led to the ouster of former CNN chairman Jeff Zucker in February, after the outlet’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, conducted an internal investigation that found Zucker had violated policies of conduct. professional and company personnel.
“As for CNN, I will never be a hater,” Cuomo said last week on the first episode of a new podcast he recently launched called “The Chris Cuomo Project.” “CNN has great people. CNN has a great purpose. And I wish you all the best. And I miss a lot of the people there. But it’s time for me to move on.”
NewsNation, which features a weekday morning news show and a slate of prime-time commentary and analysis shows, was recently launched by Nexstar Media Group, a company that owns and operates dozens of local television stations around the world. the country.
Nexstar Media Group also owns The Hill, which it bought last summer.
Committing to providing what it has said in promotional materials will be more balanced news coverage compared to other higher-rated cable news channels, the network has in recent months hired a host of talent from other networks and media companies. nationals, including Washington. Columnist George Will and former Fox News Senior Editor Chris Stirewalt.
Last May, NewsNation hired Michael Corn, a former senior executive producer of ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” as its news president. Cuomo previously worked at ABC as the host of its weekday morning show before joining CNN in 2014. Abrams is currently chief legal analyst for ABC.
In announcing Cuomo’s hiring, Sean Compton, president of networks for Nexstar Media Inc., said the former CNN host “would further our efforts to continue to ensure fairness and transparency in our news reporting and talk shows.”
“NewsNation believes in the work I’m doing with the Chris Cuomo Project and I look forward to building something special here: covering news wherever it happens and having conversations that address common concerns and solutions rather than political parties or the political circus,” Cuomo said in a statement. communication issued through the network.
“I had decided that I can’t go back to what people see as the big game. I don’t think it can make a difference there. I think we need insurgent media. We need outlets that are not fringe and just trying to line their pockets… I’m going to do the job,” Cuomo told Abrams on Tuesday. “I’m going to go where the news is and I’m going to try very hard to be fair and I want to do it here.