Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
There are many forms of media bias. Slanting coverage, ignoring stories, leaving out context and conveniently forgetting an important fact.
The Daily Caller called out The New York Times for the way the newspaper handled its story on the corruption trial of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez.
“The NYTimes in its over 1,000-word story, it initially failed to mention that Menendez is a Democrat!”
After significant pushback, the NYTimes added Menendez’s party affiliation.
The Daily Caller reports:
The paper referred to him as ” The senator,” “Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey,” and “Mr. Menendez, a senior senator,” before referring to him as “Mr. Menendez” or “the senator” for the rest of the story. Only after a barrage of online criticism did the NYT note that Menendez is a Democrat, adding in the identifier in the fourth paragraph.
Menendez is facing multiple corruption charges for allegedly trading policial influence for financial favors including vacations.
In contrast, The Washington Post story on the Menendez corruption trial mentions he is a Democrat in the second sentence and it provides an outline of the charges against the Senator and Dr. Salomon Melgen who allegedly sought the political favors.
The indictment alleges the men engaged in a quid pro quo since Menendez was first elected, detailing:
Menendez took 19 free rides on Melgen’s private jets to luxury resorts around the world, sometimes bringing guests.
Menendez helped three of Melgen’s foreign-born girlfriends get visas to visit the United States.
Over a period of four years, Menendez held several meetings with U.S. health officials to help Melgen settle an $8.9 million Medicare payment dispute, at one point asking then-Senate majority leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to help out.
Melgen made more than $600,000 in campaign donations to super PACs to get Menendez reelected in 2012.
As Melgen was emailing Menendez’s staff in April and May 2012, promising to donate to Menendez’s campaign, prosecutors allege Menendez reached out to top State Department officials to urge them to enforce a port-security contract with the Dominican Republic that would benefit Melgen’s company.
Dr. Melgen and Menendez claim innocence.
The importance of party affiliation can’t be dismissed.
If Menendez leaves office, New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie could appoint a Republican replacement adding an additional vote for the GOP in the Senate.
