Blog #9 - Press Coverage

A Google search of Andrew Cuomo reveals that the most recent news covering the New York Governor is as follows:

The first thing we see is an article titled "Man of the Week: Andrew Cuomo" from Women's Wear Daily, of all places.

However, a narrower Google News search shows that many recent articles concern Gov. Cuomo's trip to Cuba on Monday - he is the first governor to visit the country since President Barack Obama announced policy changes establishing diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States. A variety of news sources (NY Times,USA Today, CNN, WSJ, The Guardian, and even Vanity Fair) across the political continuum have covered Cuomo's visit.

Other articles include a book review of Cuomo's most recent biography The Contender, and his banning of non-essential state travel to Indiana because of "the new anti-gay religious freedom law."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/books/review/the-contender-a-biography-of-andrew-cuomo.html?_r=0
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/31/andrew-cuomo-indiana-_n_6979000.html
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/20/politics/andrew-cuomo-trade-trip-cuba/

Blog #8 - Media Bias

It is not very common to find media outlets and news sources that are without bias.  Typically, voting populations label particular outlets as leaning liberal or conservative. These biases affect the way media sources portray certain policies, candidates, and other political concerns. In this case, I present two articles from what I consider to be "liberal" media outlet (The Huffington Post) and a "conservative" outlet (TheBlaze) concerning New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's ban on fracking in the state of New York. Between the two, how differently is Cuomo portrayed?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-gallay/why-andrew-cuomo-banned-f_2_b_6388228.html

The Huffington Post's article on Cuomo's fracking ban defends the New York governor's choice, citing the actions behind his decision as "what leadership is all about" and "what democracy is all about." The title of the article is literally "Why Andrew Cuomo Banned Fracking in New York." Descriptions of his decision making process ("he waited for the evidence to come in and listened to what his senior staff and constituents were telling him") are far from critical. Paul Gallay, the reporter behind the article, does not hide his own stance on the environmental concerns behind fracking, and praises Cuomo for "listening to the activists and senior state officials" who agreed that "fracking's adverse environmental, economic, and health impacts are simply unacceptable."

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/12/17/new-yorks-governor-says-hell-ban-fracking-in-the-state/

In contrast, Cuomo came under fire for his decision to ban fracking by TheBlaze assistant editor, Jon Street. This article's opening sentences contained statistics from the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute citing that the majority of upstate New Yorkers support fracking, and that despite these results, Cuomo's administration was moving forwards with the ban.  Street goes on in favor of fracking, stating that it "has generated tens of billions of dollars and reduced energy bills and fuel imports in the region" and that the long-term risks of fracking have yet to be sufficiently studied. The article also cites NY Rep. Chris Collins' criticisms of Cuomo's choice, who said that the governor was continuing to "hide behind Albany bureaucrats and controversial scientific studies to stand against hardworking New Yorkers."

Ultimately, the difference in Gov. Cuomo's portrayal in these two articles is obvious. Gallay and Street are covering the same decision that was made by Cuomo, but interpret that decision and present Cuomo in two different lights. If a person were to only read one of these articles, they would make one of two assumptions*:

The Huffington Post: "Cuomo is quite the leader wow democracy check out his listening skills what a humble yet authoritative leader he believes in science"

TheBlaze:  "Cuomo is a fracking idiot wow nothing like burying your state's economy under shale welcome to the fascist utopia of New York" 

*Full disclaimer: These are paraphrased quotes from the comments sections of the two articles.

Blog #7 -- Media, Pop Culture and Politics

Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, published an opinion piece in The Daily Caller, a politically conservative news and opinion website, that was critical of NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act. The SAFE Act in question was passed in 2013, while the opinion article itself was published in 2014.

Chris Cox, Executive Director of the NRA-ILA

In his article, Cox specifically targets Cuomo's language against pro-gun advocates, stating that Cuomo's labeling of gun-rights supporters as being "pro-assault weapons" and "extreme conservatives" reveals more about the governor himself than those who oppose his SAFE Act. Describing Cuomo's comments as "arrogant and dismissive" and that they "ignore reality in the Empire State," Cox furthers his portrayal of Gov. Cuomo as an egotistic, power-hungry radical. Cox literally uses the words "radical," "thuggish," and "extremist" to describe Gov. Cuomo and his tactics. 

In his criticisms of Cuomo's liberal agenda, Cox tears away at Cuomo's carefully crafted image as a humble and revitalizing leader for the state of New York. Cuomo's campaign has long been working on developing an image of Cuomo that shows that his partisan views and commitment to serving the public. This image is a sharp contrast to Cox's portrayal of Cuomo as a left-wing extremist that employed "thuggish tactics" to ensure that pro-gun law enforcement officials would not voice their criticisms of the SAFE Act. 

While Cox provides a valid point that the SAFE Act was a little too broad in its definition of assault weapons, many of his criticisms of Cuomo are exaggerated and extreme. I am surprised that Cox did not mention the suit that was filed by constitutional activist Robert L. Schultz (who was famous for questioning President Obama's US citizenship) asking for an injuction against the law, but the lack of mention most likely stems from the fact that state Supreme Court judge Thomas McNamara denied the injuction and that Schultz is a conspiracy theorist but that's beside the point.

Given that this portrayal of Gov. Cuomo is coming from a far-right perspective, it's difficult for it to effectively change the image Gov. Cuomo is currently trying to project.  This article serves only to reaffirm the existing opinions pro-gun advocates hold over Cuomo's SAFE Act. As a more liberally-minded reader, this article didn't do much to change my own opinions of the SAFE Act and Gov. Cuomo.  Knowing that it was written by the Executive Director of the NRA-ILA really prevented me from reading it without any biases. 

Advertising Strategies

 According to Dr. Lynda Lee Kaid, former professor of telecommunications and journalism at the University of Florida, political advertising has become the dominant form of communication between the candidates and voters in the United States since the 1950s, when political advertising first appeared in campaigns. As such, political candidates must implement various strategies in creating their ads in order to effectively reach their (potential) voters.

In the following campaign ad for Andrew Cuomo's 2014 New York gubernatorial campaign, Cuomo features his three daughters and his girlfriend Sandra Lee.  The ad, titled "Equality" promotes his women's equality agenda. Surrounded by the women of his family, Cuomo pushes voters to "pass a women’s equality act to treat women fairly, for my family and for yours." The ad clearly has several gender strategies at play within it; Cuomo employs feminine strategies to appeal to female voters.  Surrounding himself by the women of his family and playing to women's issues not only shows that he is a "family man," but also emphasizes his perceived compassion and sensitivity (which are feminine characteristics) within the ad.  

The following two ads, titled "Picente" and "Mahoney" respectively, feature New York Republicans that support Gov. Cuomo, implementing candidate-positive campaign strategies, and emphasizing the value of bipartisanship. Overall, many of Cuomo's ads during his 2014 New York gubernatorial campaign were largely candidate-positive. I feel this was most likely due to two reasons: 1. Because he was running as an incumbent, it would be easier to present a candidate-positive image, and 2. Many believed that the election would go to Cuomo, without any competition. Cuomo and his campaign team probably believed that there was not a need to employ a large amount of attack ads against his opponents.