from untitled who is the media really for us Sara Jones staff
writer and New York magazine welcome to the show Sarah.
Thank you for having me so let's just start off with these
contrasting stories of Emily Wilder, she was a young
reporter with the A P she lost her job spoiler alert. She was
the less powerful one in this kind of contrasting of 2
stories and and Chris Cuomo who is the veteran anchor at CNN
brother of New York governor Andrew Cuomo
they both had scandals last week I would argue that the
scandal involving Emily Wilder. The young reporter was much
more of the app's reaction than than anything she in
particular, but I mean if you just don't mind laying out what
happened because I think it's super informative for the
discussion we're going to have.
>> Absolutely so I'll start with Emily Wilder. Emily,
while there is a recent Stanford University graduate
who worked for the Arizona Republic reports taking an
entry level position at the Associated Press. The reason
that this is news is because the Stanford college
Republicans that got some old social media posts that Emily,
which reportedly scandalous really they to show that Emily
was involves a pro-palestinian comments in college what's
called Sheldon Adelson a naked mole rat. This became construed
as her being anti medic and we have said that she herself is
Jewish. The 80 fired Emily. The allegedly for violating
their social media policy though she has said that it has
not told her what she and while a staffer at the key to violate
that policy and the agency itself has not been forthcoming
to the media on this point either.
So contrast that to do said that the case of Chris Cuomo
star state CNN anchor politically very well connected
of course that governor Andrew Cuomo work.
The Washington Post reported that behind the scenes, Chris
Cuomo had been advising his brother and your palm all on
certain harassment allegations that have surfaced in fact some
clean Air Act saying over the last few months. I was an and
said that that was in fact an appropriate we also said that
he won't be disciplined or punished for doing so he still
has a job Emily Wilder does not.
>> And we should say that the advice that Chris Cuomo gave to
his brother the governor of New York. One of the biggest states
in the country, his brother was
once deemed the Democratic face of the pandemic so this is not
some local local show right. It was in a fairly official.
Meeting it wasn't you know 2 brothers talking and giving
each other advice over the phone this involved. The staff
of Andrew Cuomo I'm not sure it was campaign staff or official
New York state staff. That's correct is it not.
>> It was a strategy session with the former strategy
session right so.
>> The point that I think that you made so well in your piece
and I that I want the audience to glean from this is that
this is about
media deciding that well okay, we can't have them are the
members of our. Staff the journalists that work for us be
political in any way
is there anything more political then advising nor
politician brother in an official meeting
first says being a member of certain groups in college and
holding opinions. This is largely hypothetical, but just
staff
going to lie to jump in here.
>> Yeah, I mean it's certainly what Chris Coleman, it is
absolutely political. I would argue opener opens him up to
charges of corruption as well obviously not the legal sense
that family won't formal sense. It's not a good look where an
Emily I think if if she's healthy of anything at all is
guilty of something that's probably true of all of us
which is that we were political in college.
Here, journalists don't walk into most University campuses
thinking we're going to be working for the Associated
Press from day, I'm not going to join any on campus groups
not going to cause Democrat you know not going to volunteer at
planned Parenthood not going to do any of that
that really how it works and I don't think that's how it
should work frankly.
>> Well, so yeah, you wrote about in the piece just this
impossible standard that the media has decided arbitrarily
is the way forward, which is that essentially if you have to
if you want a future in the media industry. You have to be
a robot and you have to not have any opinions about the
news
seems to be contradictory why would you you and I both work
in news, why would we get into this industry if we do not care
about the news, it's it's not the pay all tell you that.
It's like I want to working news because I care about the
country I care about politics right. I was in groups, myself.
They're going to hold that standard for for Emily and then
of course if you're more powerful that's not necessarily
the case.
Curious if you have any thoughts about that kind of
impossible standard and structure that but I think a
lot of legacy papers like whatever the New York Times
Washington Post the A P in many areas seem to still be clinging
to.
>> It is an impossible standard and one I would argue that
supply the left in a way that's not necessarily sure of the
right.
Then the name of ideological diversity, I seems to me anyway
that year
it's perfectly fine to come from a background and
conservative media outlets and then go on to work for the New
York Times or another outlet like that with relative ease.
And I think that necessarily should be the case if you're a
reporter. The nice feature people who are who wrote very
left wing publication for in public for us live from causes
in here. I think it's important to point out that what Emily
weather is coming up against also is an older history of
pro-palestinian activists and in particular being singled out
being treated as anti Semitic people who engage in it being
targeted by groups like Mary mission. So that's sort of this
thriving ecosystem that exist are ready to make sure that for
punished or penalize for engaging very specifically in a
spot of blood speech.
>> Yeah, I want to return to just kind of the particular
touching us with which the media response to Palestinian
activism there. But I I want to just kind of flush out this
this standard I say that in air quotes of
neutrality because as you mention one, it's applied
in a way that day usually is responsive to pressure from the
right if not just kind of this
internal I want to say PTSD loosely but just colloquially
to say
the these medians 2 sons are terrified of being called out
for a left wing bias yeah can you talk about how that
influences these outlets and especially how it kind of
it affects up and comers like Emily Wilder and people who are
less powerful.
>> Right, I mean for all the talk of left wing Carter I
think we have seen that the right, it's very very good
actually of ginning up social media have starry and pointing
that direction of various people and I do think news
outlets.
>> Or or.
>> More nervous than really they they should be about
running afoul of such a campaign on the basis that it
somehow undermines their credibility or quote calls
their personality and then into our question.
But you know reporters have color you never have said that
they have been pressured not cover certain topics because
they because of perceived bias issues at the Washington Post
is the case of Felicia sonmez who was
and internally from writing about certain issues because of
her history of the.
A survivor of assault and watching of course to cleave
percent of that family something
and so I think that there is sort of a broader issue,
whether it's this is Bennett play and it. It really does
seem to be
almost a public relations.
Fear that's coming into or it doesn't really seem to have
much to do with protecting the credibility of the outlets
journalists.
>> Yeah, so well said, and I mean that's the antithesis of
of of what they're at least purporting to do which is truth
telling in that way. But I mean
focusing on creating them possible standard for for
reporters that creates I think its own
ecosystem in and of itself in which reporting isn't
necessarily
adversarial to the point that it should be and gives credence
to ideas that are actually up orange ice but there treated on
this with the same amount of deference that the left's ideas
are just based on that kind of public relations consideration,
it's just as varied, I have reporters in my life who worked
for some it's very reflexive and it's so imbedded in how I