Media

Study: Nets Cover Roy Moore 40x More Than Menendez Trial

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Amber Athey Podcast Columnist
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The ABC, CBS and NBC morning and evening newscasts have given 40 times more coverage to Roy Moore’s scandal than the trial of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.

From the evening of November 9 — the day Moore was accused of initiating sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32 — to the morning of November 13, ABC, CBS, and NBC dedicated 79 minutes and 42 seconds to the scandal.

That amount of coverage in just four days is 40 times more coverage than the corruption trial for Sen. Menendez, which has been going on for over two months now.

Since the trial began on September 5, NBC has offered no coverage, while ABC and CBS combined have only given it two minutes and ten seconds, reports the Media Research Center.

The networks have been putting major pressure on Republicans to denounce Moore, who is running on the Republican ticket in the Alabama Senate race. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has pulled funding from the race and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Moore on Monday to step aside.

Meanwhile, the media’s paltry coverage of the Menendez case has done little to encourage Democrats to distance themselves from Menendez, or even to ask him to resign if he is convicted on the corruption charges. (RELATED: Democrats Still Won’t Say What Should Happen To Robert Menendez If He’s Convicted) 

Menendez is accused of accepting lavish gifts, vacations, and campaign contributions from his friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen, in exchange for lobbying on behalf of Melgen’s political interests. Prosecutors say Menendez helped Melgen get visas for his model girlfriends and lobbied for him to keep millions in ill-gotten Medicare payments.

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