Twitchy readers know that we’re not what you’d call huge fans of Rolling Stone’s work. That said, compared to CNN, Rolling Stone looks relatively competent and legit.
That’s why we’re letting you know about Rolling Stone’s new exclusive on CNN and the very cozy relationship between head Jeff Zucker and fellow illustrious people like Andrew Cuomo and Allison Gollust.
CNN vs. Rolling Stone, eh? https://t.co/3c3cGVpb8B pic.twitter.com/3ziqlJYNXm
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) March 11, 2022
You’d better believe we’re here for every last ounce of this.
EXCLUSIVE: Texts & 36 sources tell the true story of how CNN's Jeff Zucker & his cronies manipulated the news.
That includes *literally* cheerleading for their favorite pols like Andrew Cuomo. As one exec texted the former guv: “Cuomo-W. Trump-L.” 🧵https://t.co/9XJ1RsSFdC
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) March 11, 2022
For the first time, @TatianaSiegel27 shows just how close Zucker and CNN’s top comms exec Allison Gollust were with Governor Andrew Cuomo. It's not just that she provided talking points (and more) to Cuomo for on-air appearances during the pandemic… https://t.co/9XJ1RsSFdC
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) March 11, 2022
In early 2020, Cuomo texted Gollust, “You don’t want to see me now that I’m single?” She replied, “A drink with you would be the best date I’ve had in a while.” Four months later, he fired off a text to Gollust suggesting he be her “pool boy.” https://t.co/9XJ1RsSFdC
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) March 11, 2022
Feel free to join us in taking a few moments to try to scrub the imagery from our minds’ eyes. We know it’s a futile effort, but we have to try.
"For @RollingStone to suggest through innuendo and creative syntax — and no evidence — that there was a sexual relationship between the two in 2020 is disgusting," a rep for Gollust says. https://t.co/9XJ1RsSFdC
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) March 11, 2022
The texts went beyond banter. When a rumor circulated that Trump was about to shut down NYC, Gollust invited the guv to “squash it” on CNN. She quipped to her ex-boss, “I’m pretty sure I stopped being your publicist 8 years ago, but apparently I still am.” https://t.co/9XJ1RsSFdC
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) March 11, 2022
There's an irony in Zucker & Gollust backing Cuomo against Trump.
Zucker was instrumental in Trump's rise with the creation of the 'Apprentice.' A former 'Today' says it’s a “100% fair assessment to say Jeff laid the groundwork for a Trump presidency.” https://t.co/9XJ1RsSFdC
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) March 11, 2022
Hey, man. We’ve been pointing out how huge a role Zucker played in Donald Trump’s getting the GOP nomination and ultimately winning the presidential election since forever. We appreciate that Rolling Stone has finally gotten to a point where they can acknowledge that.
More from Tatiana Siegel’s piece:
What viewers did not know is that in the hours between Cuomo’s Albany press conference and his CNN dinner-hour appearance, he corresponded directly with CNN leadership. Firing off a text to the network’s top marketing and communications executive, Allison Gollust — who had also been his own publicist a few years prior — Cuomo wrote, in an apparent reference to CNN President Jeff Zucker, “Ask Jeff to call me plz.” Zucker’s representatives say he has “no record” of speaking to Cuomo that day. Regardless, Cuomo landed on a talking point sure to grab Trump’s attention. And Zucker certainly knew exactly which levers to pull when it came to the president, given their long and lucrative relationship via the reality show The Apprentice.
About 30 minutes before Cuomo appeared on CNN by remote feed, Gollust emailed a programing staffer, cc’ing Zucker, and offered the governor as a last-minute guest to talk about Trump’s proposed quarantine. She then told Zucker that the governor would like to speak with him. When the segment ended, Gollust texted Cuomo: “Well done . . . Cuomo-W. Trump-L.”
A representative for the former governor declined to comment. Risa Heller, a spokeswoman for both Zucker and Gollust, says in a statement that “Jeff never advised Andrew Cuomo,” and that the notion that Gollust was “laundering advice to the Governor” was “far-fetched” and “patently ridiculous.” But two sources familiar with the matter dispute this. To observers both outside and inside CNN, the network brass’s interactions with the governor represented the worst kind of journalistic lapse — “one of the most clear-cut ethical breaches you could think of,” says University of Missouri journalism professor Ryan Thomas. News outlets are supposed to expose the wrongdoings of politicians, not serve as their publicists. That’s especially true for the network that bills itself as “The Most Trusted Name in News.”
Yeah … you’re definitely gonna want to read the whole thing.
You know it's bad when Rolling Stone is posting an article like this. https://t.co/3mHvMe1YxC
— Brad (@mottled_paws) March 11, 2022
Rolling Stone is not exactly a hotbed of Trump sycophancy. If they’re going after CNN, it’s because they want us to know that CNN is just that bad.
gosh… you… don't… say https://t.co/NFPCN9fsep
— Vince Mancini (@VinceMancini) March 11, 2022
Corporate news execs are all in a group chat together that try to manipulate news and lie to their audience?
no way… that is crazy talk https://t.co/DQD2XGKzim
— Ahmed Al Assliken (@assliken) March 11, 2022
Crazy talk.
Weird. How did @brianstelter & @oliverdarcy miss this one? https://t.co/YatFvhudlE
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 11, 2022
Maybe they didn’t miss it, per se. As we speak, Brian Stelter and Oliver Darcy are probably brainstorming ways to blame this on Fox News somehow.
I personally am uninterested in the consensual relationship between two adults – at CNN or wherever – but the emails showing how Zucker and top deputies explicitly manipulated the news and interviews by top hosts to help Cuomo shows the depths of journalistic corruption at CNN: https://t.co/QEu4lgwPMC
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) March 11, 2022
The craziest part of all this is that we probably still haven’t gotten to the bottom of CNN’s barrel. No way there isn’t more where all this has come from.
Jeff Zucker is and was a uniquely shameless malign force in American politics and we will be paying for putting him in a position to influence people for a generation or more https://t.co/7wi7qTKkYR
— Lord Businessman (@BusinessmanLego) March 11, 2022
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