Thread by @BryanAlexander

I wanted to share some quick thoughts about one aspect of the #Cuomo story.

It's about information literacy.

Specifically, it's about reading vs tv watching.

(1/n)

I've been seeing so many Democrats suddenly realize that #Cuomo is a terrible person.

As a native New Yorker, politics junkie, and person of the left, I've been wondering why it took them so long.

(2/n)

After listening to tons of Democrats who adored the man, I started to form a suspicion that it was about media literacy and habits.

Then @pareene and @onthemedia confirmed my guess.

Cuomo fans: tv watchers.
Cuomo critics: readers.

(3/n)

@pareene @onthemedia See, people who *read* about Cuomo learned about all kinds of awful things in his career in general, especially around corruption and abuse of power.
There have been plenty of stories. Heaps of evidence.

(4/n)

@pareene @onthemedia Wrt COVID, Propublica offered a devastating account of Cuomo's response (and de Blasio's) way back in May of last year.

propublica.org/article/two-co…

(5/n)

@pareene @onthemedia This has been pretty thoroughly established.

So long as one actually read about it.

In newspapers, online - the key was reading journalism.

(6/n)

@pareene @onthemedia But on tv? People who watched Cuomo were won over. Cuomo's repeated broadcasts made him into a star.

The contrast with Trump - another creature of tv - was terrific and all to Cuomo's benefit.

(7/n)

@pareene @onthemedia This is, btw, where "Cuomosexuals" lived, in response to the governor on tv.

For example:

Free forecast for today: Cuomosexual is not gonna be a good look for a while.

(8/n)

@pareene @onthemedia Now the sexual harassment stories have blown up and they actually make for fine tv. Very visual stories. Very short, even anecdotal stories.

Now those tv-oriented folks can see Cuomo's darkness, apparently for the first time.

(9/n)

@pareene @onthemedia The On The media podcast did a good episode on this.
The discussants argue that you _can_ tell complex stories on tv, like about state corruption, but that tv news tends to avoid even trying to offer any.

Naturally, OTM isn't tv:
wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/e…

(10/n)

@pareene @onthemedia I've been criticizing tv news for years, and know that it's an unpopular stance.
bryanalexander.org/tag/tv/

But I can't shake this explanation for the Cuomo story.

(11/11)

@pareene @onthemedia Listen to how @rtraister phrases it:

"Cuomo was a bully, but he was *our* bully. Over the course of the past year, however, as he took his show national as Governor Covid"

The key word is "show".

nymag.com/intelligencer/…

@pareene @onthemedia There's other stuff going on as well, of course. But I think that living in the Golden Age of TV (for fiction) has weakened our ability to think skeptically about TV (for news).

Re: Trump as tv creature, here's a fine book on the topic:

goodreads.com/review/show/29…