{"id":1235330,"date":"2023-09-29T16:06:51","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T16:06:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fair.org\/?p=9035603"},"modified":"2023-09-29T16:06:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T16:06:51","slug":"stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/09\/29\/stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Zunes on Menendez Indictment"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style='display:none;' class='shareaholic-canvas' data-app='share_buttons' data-title='Stephen Zunes on Menendez Indictment' data-link='https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment\/' data-summary='The story is mostly about the political fortunes of an individual; the huge numbers of less powerful people impacted are, at best, backdrop.' data-app-id-name='category_above_content'><\/div><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<div id=\"mp3jWrap_0\" class=\"mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp  verdana-mjp\" style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span id=\"playpause_wrap_mp3j_0\" class=\"wrap_inline_mp3j\" style=\"font-weight:700;\"><span class=\"gfxbutton_mp3j play-mjp\" id=\"playpause_mp3j_0\" style=\"font-size:14px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span>&nbsp;<span class=\"group_wrap\"><span class=\"bars_mp3j\"><span class=\"loadB_mp3j\" id=\"load_mp3j_0\"><\/span><span class=\"posbarB_mp3j\" id=\"posbar_mp3j_0\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"T_mp3j\" id=\"T_mp3j_0\" style=\"font-size:14px;\">CounterSpin230929.mp3<\/span><span class=\"indi_mp3j\" style=\"font-size:9.8px;\" id=\"statusMI_0\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div><span class=\"s-nosolution\" id=\"mp3j_nosolution_0\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><script>\nMP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0 = [\n\t{ name: \"CounterSpin230929.mp3\", formats: [\"mp3\"], mp3: \"aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjMwOTI5Lm1wMw==\", counterpart:\"\", artist: \"\", image: \"\", imgurl: \"\" }\n];\n<\/script>\n\n<script>MP3jPLAYERS[0] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_0, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pause_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };<\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_9035609\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-9035609\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-9035609\" src=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/NYT-Menendez-350x363.png\" alt=\"NYT: As Menendez\u2019s Star Rose, Fears of Corruption Cast a Persistent Shadow\" width=\"350\" height=\"363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/NYT-Menendez-350x363.png 350w, https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/NYT-Menendez-600x623.png 600w, https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/NYT-Menendez-768x797.png 768w, https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/NYT-Menendez-640x664.png 640w, https:\/\/fair.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/NYT-Menendez.png 792w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-9035609\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em><strong>New York Times<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/27\/nyregion\/bob-menendez-career-nj.html\">9\/27\/23<\/a>)<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>This week on <strong>CounterSpin<\/strong>: You can\u2019t say elite US news media aren\u2019t on the story of the federal indictment of Robert Menendez, Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/09\/27\/nyregion\/bob-menendez-career-nj.html\">articles<\/a> like the <strong>New York Times<\/strong>\u2019 \u201cAs Menendez\u2019s Star Rose, Fears of Corruption Cast a Persistent Shadow\u201d represent media embrace of the \u201cgreat man of history\u201d theme: The story is mostly about the political fortunes of an individual; the huge numbers of less powerful people impacted by those compromised decisions are, at best, backdrop.<\/p>\n<p>When they try to tighten it into a &#8220;takeaway,&#8221; it can get weirder still: That <strong>Times<\/strong> piece&#8217;s headline included the idea that \u201cthe New Jersey Democrat broke barriers for Latinos. But prosecutors circled for decades before charging him with an explosive new bribery plot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Come again?<\/p>\n<p>If elite media\u2019s <i>takeaway <\/i>from the Menendez indictment is that some people over-favor their friends and like gold bars\u2014that\u2019s a storyline that leads nowhere, calls nothing into question beyond the individual actors themselves. Is that the coverage we need? What does it even have to do with foreign policy?<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Zunes is a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco. His most recent book, co-authored with Jacob Mundy, is <a href=\"https:\/\/press.syr.edu\/supressbooks\/4624\/western-sahara\/\"><i>Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution<\/i><\/a>, out now in a revised, updated edition from <strong>Syracuse University Press<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>We talk with him about what\u2019s at stake in the Menendez indictment beyond Menendez\u2019s \u201cpolitical fortunes.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"mp3jWrap_1\" class=\"mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp  verdana-mjp\" style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span id=\"playpause_wrap_mp3j_1\" class=\"wrap_inline_mp3j\" style=\"font-weight:700;\"><span class=\"gfxbutton_mp3j play-mjp\" id=\"playpause_mp3j_1\" style=\"font-size:14px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span>&nbsp;<span class=\"group_wrap\"><span class=\"bars_mp3j\"><span class=\"loadB_mp3j\" id=\"load_mp3j_1\"><\/span><span class=\"posbarB_mp3j\" id=\"posbar_mp3j_1\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"T_mp3j\" id=\"T_mp3j_1\" style=\"font-size:14px;\">CounterSpin230929Zunes.mp3<\/span><span class=\"indi_mp3j\" style=\"font-size:9.8px;\" id=\"statusMI_1\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div><span class=\"s-nosolution\" id=\"mp3j_nosolution_1\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><script>\nMP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_1 = [\n\t{ name: \"CounterSpin230929Zunes.mp3\", formats: [\"mp3\"], mp3: \"aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjMwOTI5WnVuZXMubXAz\", counterpart:\"\", artist: \"\", image: \"\", imgurl: \"\" }\n];\n<\/script>\n\n<script>MP3jPLAYERS[1] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_1, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pause_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };<\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Plus Janine Jackson takes a quick look at recent press coverage of the FCC and the 1973 Chilean coup.<\/p>\n<div id=\"mp3jWrap_2\" class=\"mjp-s-wrapper s-graphic unsel-mjp  verdana-mjp\" style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span id=\"playpause_wrap_mp3j_2\" class=\"wrap_inline_mp3j\" style=\"font-weight:700;\"><span class=\"gfxbutton_mp3j play-mjp\" id=\"playpause_mp3j_2\" style=\"font-size:14px;\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span>&nbsp;<span class=\"group_wrap\"><span class=\"bars_mp3j\"><span class=\"loadB_mp3j\" id=\"load_mp3j_2\"><\/span><span class=\"posbarB_mp3j\" id=\"posbar_mp3j_2\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"T_mp3j\" id=\"T_mp3j_2\" style=\"font-size:14px;\">CounterSpin230929Banter.mp3<\/span><span class=\"indi_mp3j\" style=\"font-size:9.8px;\" id=\"statusMI_2\"><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div><span class=\"s-nosolution\" id=\"mp3j_nosolution_2\" style=\"display:none;\"><\/span><script>\nMP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_2 = [\n\t{ name: \"CounterSpin230929Banter.mp3\", formats: [\"mp3\"], mp3: \"aHR0cHM6Ly9tZWRpYS5ibHVicnJ5LmNvbS9jb3VudGVyc3Bpbi9jb250ZW50LmJsdWJycnkuY29tL2NvdW50ZXJzcGluL0NvdW50ZXJTcGluMjMwOTI5QmFudGVyLm1wMw==\", counterpart:\"\", artist: \"\", image: \"\", imgurl: \"\" }\n];\n<\/script>\n\n<script>MP3jPLAYERS[2] = { list: MP3jPLAYLISTS.inline_2, tr:0, type:'single', lstate:'', loop:false, play_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pause_txt:'&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;', pp_title:'', autoplay:false, download:false, vol:80, height:'' };<\/script>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div style='display:none;' class='shareaholic-canvas' data-app='share_buttons' data-title='Stephen Zunes on Menendez Indictment' data-link='https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment\/' data-summary='The story is mostly about the political fortunes of an individual; the huge numbers of less powerful people impacted are, at best, backdrop.' data-app-id-name='category_below_content'><\/div><div style='display:none;' class='shareaholic-canvas' data-app='recommendations' data-title='Stephen Zunes on Menendez Indictment' data-link='https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment\/' data-summary='The story is mostly about the political fortunes of an individual; the huge numbers of less powerful people impacted are, at best, backdrop.' data-app-id-name='category_below_content'><\/div><p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment\/\">Stephen Zunes on Menendez Indictment<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/\">FAIR<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment\/\">CounterSpin<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The story is mostly about the political fortunes of an individual; the huge numbers of less powerful people impacted are, at best, backdrop.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/stephen-zunes-on-menendez-indictment\/\">Stephen Zunes on Menendez Indictment<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/\">FAIR<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[422,423,2923,259,1872,262,263],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235330"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1235330"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1365409,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235330\/revisions\/1365409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1235330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1235330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1235330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}