NewsBusters Podcast: A Rerun of the Corrupt Senator From New Jersey

Sen. Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, is once again in legal trouble for corruption. So far, the media attention is more intense than the last go-round during the Obama administration. What will happen leading up to his next Senate campaign in 2024?

Joining the show to discuss the senator if Kevin Tober, NewsBusters nightly news analyst and native of Ocean County, New Jersey. We will ask ourselves some questions: How much coverage of this Menendez scandal? How much do they use the word “Democrat” to describe him? Or do they “Hide the D” as usual? And then there’s the media ethics: how does MSNBC handle their anchor Alicia Menendez, the senator’s daughter?

From there, we explore just how the media covered the House hearing on justice issues with Attorney General Merrick Garland. It drew coverage, but it still minimized Republican soundbites and narratives, letting Garland boast with a straight face that the current Justice Department is so independent of Biden. PBS stood out for shrinking its story down to two minutes.

The networks have located a new “migrant crisis,” as video of the border easily demonstrated. ABC World News Tonight anchor David Muir reported at the top of the segment there’s “anger over the migrant crisis in this country.” In New York City, on Staten Island, “that anger boiling over. Protesters pinned down, multiple arrests,” Muir noted. “And it’s not just New York. Multiple states tonight.” But they want to stick to the Jean-Pierre spin that none of this is Biden’s fault. You should blame Republicans.

Then there was the outbreak of badly disguised joy as Rupert Murdoch announced he’s going to step away from day-to-day control of the Fox News Channel. Leftists from Oliver Darcy to Brian Stelter to David Folkenflik rounded up their hot takes how terrible Fox is, and how it can only get worse. 

Enjoy the podcast below, or wherever you listen to podcasts.