New Jersey has never been more in the news than this past day. 44 people were arrested on various corruption charges, and the persons arrested included 3 mayors. As I watched news coverage of this story unfold on most of the major news sources I started to put together this post.
I started my perusal of articles pertaining to this story by looking at the New York Times coverage. Written ably by David Halbfinger, the article is detailed and does not appear to slant one way or the other. It gives facts and some details that other news sources do not, like the name of the federal informant who helped the FBI break this case, as well as detailing the fact that this all came out of a sting operation that took the FBI 2 years to put together before arrests were made.
Next, I turned to USA Today, and indeed, they had coverage of this story. Their main story was written by reporter Rick Hamson and aided by dispatches from the Associated Press, but its focus is the scandal of the political figures arrested. After the first paragraph of the story are quotes from New Jersey residents, which seem to say, "yeah, we've seen this before, it doesn't change." They also do not detail any of the international money laundering that was the first focus of the arrests.
The Huffington Post is not a news source I am that familiar with, but I decided to look at their coverage of this story, and found this coverage the most slanted of all that I looked at. Written by several contributors, they also focus on the political figures arrested, starting with the stepping down of a member of the governor's cabinet amid the scandal. This news source is, like I stated, not one I look at regularly, and given the slant of this story, is not one that I will turn to much in the future.
Lastly, I looked at coverage by the BBC. Of all the sources, this one is perhaps the shortest of all the articles and does not even have a byline listed, but it is, to my eyes, the most unbiased. It details the focus of the international money laundering operation and then gives names of who was arrested. Yes, the names start with the political figures, but then you get the names of the rabbis arrested as well. It tells the reader that the FBI used an informant to approach the political figures, and that this was a sting operation. I like looking at news stories reported by sources outside the United States because you get a different, more outside view. I regularly turn to the BBC for news about the United States, and would recommend their coverage of most major stories.
Corruption in politics is not a new concept, nor is it likely to stop just because the FBI arrested a bunch of people. My first memories of political corruption go back to the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. I stay skeptical about all political figures until they prove to me, by deeds alone, that they are worthy of my support. Having news sources all report their versions of the same story gives all of us a chance to weigh facts and make up our minds about political personages.
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I am still shocked and appalled at this whole story... Corruption exists everywhere to be sure, but to be trading in people's bodies as well as using charitable organizations to scam and make a buck is just beyond disgusting. The devastation to the community is going to go deep, and to me is on par with Madoff fleecing so many people. I was at a newsroom where a friend works this weekend and even the anchors when they were off air couldn't stop talking about it. It seems there is no one trustworthy - - - - is this 'mean world syndrome'???!
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