Governors star in a New York theater

The first New York governors’ debate took place on October 18th with all seven candidates making an appearance. It opened up the possibility of a clash between the front-runners, Carl Paladino (the Republican pick), and Andrew Cuomo (the Democratic rival), in a race that has been "making headlines for its nasty tone". (Evidence of the nastiness is handsomely provided by the news media, most notably in Paladino’s antigay criticisms on Cuomo). Surprisingly, these two candidates hardly acknowledged each other at the debate. However, the five third-party candidates picked up the slack by taking jabs at each other. Charles Barron, the candidate who was a former Black Panther, jeered, "Asking Andrew Cuomo and Carl Paladino to end corruption is like asking an arsonist to help us put out the fires. It doesn't make sense."

That the debate captured the public’s attention has a lot to do with the candidates’ theatrical behaviors, but the tendencies and preferences of the news media also played a role. The news media preys on entertainment and conflict, and the debate provided both. Various major news media, including CNN, The New York Times, and The Economist made it a priority to mention how Kristin Davis, the candidate who was a former prostitute madam, made frequent brothel jokes. In fact, one New York Times article covering the debate failed to mention anything with political substance until the very end.

The news media’s consistent focus on the candidates’ personal idiosyncrasies made the debate seem more like a humorous talk show than a serious political debate. As The Economist writes, the debate "provided guffaws and little else."