There is a great moment in "The Godfather" when Michael Corleone and his family are making plans and Michael asks Tom Hagen, "We have newspaper people on the payroll, don't we Tom?"
Well, apparently the Cuomos have taken over the family business.
Chris Cuomo has been suspended indefinitely by CNN. He is lucky to still have a job, if you ask me.
Regardless of which preaching-to-the-converted cable news network you turn to first, Cuomo's actions should be ridiculed.
Cuomo broke the most basic rule of journalism, and he put his interests ahead of the news.
(Side note: I used to think that the most basic rule of journalism was never become part of the story, but in a media sphere in which news tellers are every bit as famous as the newsmakers, that tenet was tossed with afternoon newspapers and non-partisan political pundits.)
Cuomo has proven to be a bum, whether he's a registered D or R.
There are rotten apples on each side of the finger-pointing faction. Heck, there are folks who view me in a somewhat similar light. You should see my hate mail.
That's part of being the messenger and the blame that comes with that role.
But Cuomo went beyond delivering the message to trying to manipulate it. And that cannot go unnoticed. Or unpunished.
Cuomo's nepotistic disregard for anything remotely close to an ethical approach does a disservice to all of us in this profession. I don't ever root for someone to lose their job - especially in this industry in which there is already a shrinkage in the workforce because of the marketplace.
But Cuomo's self-serving ways damage the big-picture credibility of all of us in the profession.
Again, I know he's not the lone wolf in that regard. Sadly.
But weeding out the bad actors - and those are the folks that do it in bad faith more than a position or point of view you or I may disagree with - is a positive for all of us in this business.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.
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Jay Greeson