The pro and the hack

Image via Wikipedia

I love today's front page in The Record of Woodland Park, showcasing the work of one of its strongest reporters and one if its weakest -- side by side. The editors inadvertently provide more  evidence of what a poor job former sports writer John Brennan is doing on the Xanadu story.


When I was still at The Record, the news copy editors could hear Brennan loudly talking up his stories in the late afternoons with one of the editors, Tim Nostrand. Brennan always seemed to be talking compulsively. Now, he somehow convinced the editors to send him to Las Vegas to cover a new backer's attempt to find tenants for the retail and entertainment center in the Meadowlands. What a waste of money.


This is a non-story, as you can tell from Brennan desperately mentioning Sarah Palin in the lead paragraph. The story is poorly reported and written, and doesn't belong on A-1. Yet, Brennan and The Record can't hide their eagerness to write Xanadu's obit. Palin and Brennan. Dumb and Dumber.


Of course, the paper still is capable of good journalism, as readers can see from Staff Writer Jeff Pillets' story on alleged state pension abuses by powerful lawyers -- right next to the Brennan fiasco. Pillets knows his craft. He is as much of a pro as Brennan is a hack.


Look at some of the beautifully crafted paragraphs on A-1 that bring readers up to speed, such as the one that begins this way:

"New Jersey's public pension system is famously packed with political insiders, party loyalists and professionals who entered the state benefit system via part-time public jobs."

Then Pillets goes on to name names, and report the state attorney general is reviewing the cases  for violations of the law.

An editorial on A-11 praises Governor Christie for restoring cuts to programs for low-income seniors and the disabled, and dismisses the viability of the Democrats' millionaires tax, which the governor vetoed -- more kowtowing to the Borgs and other wealthy residents. How responsible is this kind of journalism?


There isn't much else in this thin Monday paper, certainly no Hackensack, Englewood or Teaneck news in Local. If there weren't graduation photos to blow up and cover the front of the section with, what would the incompetent assignment desk under Deirdre Sykes do?


In Better Living, the continuing focus today on celebrity chefs is a disservice to readers looking for information on how they can buy good ingredients, and prepare and serve healthy meals to their families. Look at this juvenile lead paragraph about Marcus Samuelsson, who will appear in New Jersey for a cookbook signing:

"Marcus Samuelsson is a busy dude."

I guess Food Editor Bill Pitcher was too busy to notice this kind of mindless promotion has no place in the paper.