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Earlier this month, Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan sent a letter to the editors of various news publications as well as CNN decrying the news channel’s annual New Year’s coverage. The DA, whose office is in Northampton, noted that about 37 million adults binge drink once a week, according to the Centers for Disease Control. There are about 95,000 deaths per year due to excessive alcohol use, the CDC said.
While providing “excellent entertainment,” Sullivan said, the show also “glorifies binge drinking and overuse of alcohol, suggesting that alcohol is a necessary ingredient to letting loose and having fun."
Sullivan said that as journalists who are trusted with promoting the truth, CNN’s anchors and reporters should not be imbibing so much on-air.
“Young people look up to Anderson Cooper," Sullivan said. "It is too bad CNN is having him squander that admiration by engaging in behavior we have for years been trying to get frat houses to stop.”
“Like it or not, they are role models,” Sullivan said. “This behavior is not something we want other adults, and certainly not teenagers, to emulate.”
While many New Year’s Eve programs show hosts and guests sipping champagne or mixing drinks, CNN has taken it further. In 2019, anchors and correspondents threw back shots while drinking Champagne, and vodka-sodas. They encouraged people at home to join in, according to a review of New Year’s programs by The Washington Post.
This year, CNN's show starts at 8 p.m. from New York City Times Square. It will be hosted by Cooper as well as TV personality Andy Cohen.
“Now more than ever, watching our trusted news figures binge drinking on national television is disheartening and alarming," Sullivan said.
Sullivan closed his letter imploring CNN not to “squander the admiration” people have for its news anchors, in particular Anderson Cooper, by having them drink on-air like a bunch of frat boys.
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