How reputations are ruined, from CNN to Buckingham Palace

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CNN faces new turmoil amid Cuomo probe

'Media Buzz' host Howard Kurtz has the latest on Chris Cuomo being accused of sexual assault in 2011 on 'The Story.'

The phenomenon of meteoric rise and calamitous fall seems to be all around us.

One day you’re a master of the universe and the next you’re a powerless punching bag for every yutz on social media.

Some deserve their fate, others are collateral damage. But what often gets lost in our winner-take-all media culture is that these are human beings.

Chris Cuomo (left) said that he advised actor Alec Baldwin (center) not to speak out about cancel culture while Andrew Cuomo (right) was facing allegations of sexual misconduct. (Getty Images)

The mess at CNN is a classic case study. So is the lawsuit against Alec Baldwin for the accidental shooting that killed his cinematographer. And so is the Jeffrey Epstein-linked disgrace of Prince Andrew.  

Jeff Zucker, the ousted CNN president, is a dynamo who supercharged its staid culture, but that came at a cost–juicing its ratings by turning the place into a liberal, highly opinionated, anti-Trump network. With Donald Trump out of office, CNN has suffered a ratings swoon that certainly didn’t help Zucker when he got into trouble for not disclosing a sexual relationship with his top deputy.

That executive, Allison Gollust, a seasoned PR manager who followed Zucker there from NBC, also got forced out the other day, and in a heavy-handed way that prompted an angry statement about retaliation from Warner Media and its "disastrous" handling of the whole debacle.

Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Andrew Cuomo (Getty Images)

The widespread skepticism that both were exiled over their romance–a violation of corporate rules, but often drawing a wrist slap or less at media outlets–was deepened by Warner Media’s next move.

CEO Jason Kilar told his staff that Zucker and Gollust, as well as Chris Cuomo, violated news standards and company policies. But what exactly did they do? Does it have to do with rumors that they improperly helped Andrew Cuomo (for whom Gollust previously worked), and not just his brother?

Warner Media should clear this up by releasing the internal report. (CNN, by the way, hasn’t reported on either those findings or Gollust’s forced resignation.)

Cuomo was a stellar correspondent and anchor at ABC who created CNN’s highest-rated show in prime time. Zucker, who blundered by allowing him to do all those puffball interviews with the governor, fired him for going too far in helping his embattled brother and lying to him about it. But Chris Cuomo’s camp said he kept his boss informed of all his efforts.

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Cuomo got whacked again by a leak to the New York Times of an account by a former ABC staffer who alleges that he sexually assaulted her 11 years ago in his office after she refused his advances. If true, it is a chilling accusation, but Cuomo insists it is false. What’s more, while some at CNN say Cuomo is going after Zucker to force the network into a lucrative contract settlement, it is Cuomo who was the target of the latest leak, involving a woman who chooses to remain anonymous.

Britain's Prince Andrew leaves after attending the Easter Sunday service at St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle in southern England April 5, 2015.  ( REUTERS/Neil Hall )

A year ago, Cuomo, Zucker and Gollust–as well as Andrew Cuomo– were all riding high. Now they’ve all been toppled. All made mistakes. The sexual harassment allegations against the former governor are well documented. But the extent of misconduct by the other three remains hazy.

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Alec Baldwin was on top of the world as a successful actor who portrayed Trump on "SNL." But now the family of Helyna Hutchins is suing him and others for the movie-set gun discharge that took the cinematographer’s life.

There were clearly lapses in gun safety on that set, which had prompted earlier complaints. And the Hutchins estate is entitled to sue. But some people who don’t like Baldwin for his liberal views or his temper are using the occasion to vilify him. This was a tragic accident, and that Baldwin pulled the trigger will haunt him to his grave.

Prince Andrew, once a respected member of the royal family, has been dogged for years by allegations that he sexually exploited a teenage girl, Virginia Giuffre, which he has always denied. But now he has settled her lawsuit with a statement saying he "never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair attacks," and even commending her "bravery."

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Plus, he is paying her a substantial amount of money, including a donation to her charity (financed by 2 million pounds from Queen Elizabeth, the Mirror reports). You don’t issue that statement or pay that kind of money unless you did something truly bad.

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But Andrew gets to keep his royal titles–which is more than some of CNN’s biggest names can say. And the wave of bad press, fairly or unfairly, isn’t over for them.