‘Are you sicker than a CNN anchor?’: Fox News segment mocks broadcasters with coronavirus

‘There seems to be a deliberate attempt to graft a slew of CNN anchors onto this crisis’ guest says

Fox News’ Laura Ingraham and guest Raymond Arroyo mocked CNN anchors who had contracted coronavirus live on air on Wednesday night.

The two hosts joked that the anchors had become like reality TV stars, and could launch their own shows suggesting the title “‘Are You Sicker Than a CNN Anchor?’”

During the crisis, at least three CNN anchors, Chris Cuomo, Brooke Baldwin, and Richard Quest have all tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Both Cuomo and Baldwin have continued to appear in their scheduled broadcasts, documenting their symptoms and warning people against the virus.

Ms Ingraham and Arroyo expressed criticism for the host's continued television appearances during their recovery from the disease.

“Throughout the lockdown, CNN anchors seem to have increasingly become the story,” Ms Ingraham said opening the segment with Mr Arroyo.

“Laura, the first rule of journalism is don’t inject yourself into the story,” Mr Arroyo responded. “But there seems to be a deliberate attempt to graft a slew of CNN anchors onto this Covid crisis."

The two then joked that the anchors had become like TV personalities who were forming their own reality shows.

"It almost appears they’ve launched a series of new reality shows. You could call this one ‘Are You Sicker Than a CNN Anchor?’”, Mr Arroyo said.

The show displayed a hypothetical design of a graphic for the show with a coronavirus background and a thermometer underlining its text.

The journalist and author went on to condemn the public figures for continually drawing attention to their own experiences amidst the pandemic.

“Laura, the self-referential emoting is I guess what’s so galling. Look, people are dying, people are losing their livelihoods," he said.

"Chances are, young and healthy anchors are not going to succumb to this disease, and to keep this narrative going every night that’s so personal, it is disturbing, because you lose all perspective."

The hosts both affirmed that they are glad to hear the hosts were recovering from the disease.

"It’s great to have perspective, but to become the story is a big problem here, and CNN really should tamp down their personal stories. It’s too much," Mr Arroyo said.

Covid-19 has infected at least 840,000 people in the US as of Thursday and caused more than 46,000 deaths, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.