Taking Zisa out of Zisaville

Image by wallyg via Flickr

When is the last time you saw almost the entire front-page of The Record devoted to a story about Hackensack, where the paper was founded in 1895 and where it prospered for more than 110 years? It's been many, many years, and even today, anyone who glanced quickly at the headlines and photos might have trouble figuring out where this 'new day' is occurring.

I'll have to say one thing for Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa. He's well-groomed. That mug shot is priceless. 

Too bad the reporters who have been chasing allegations about him for years aren't the cream of the crop. It's the prosecutor -- not the former Hackensack daily -- bringing to an end Zisa's 15-year reign in Zisaville.

And to think, just about all the other news about Hackensack for several years was sacrificed to this effort, guided by head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes, whose signature shrieks of laughter must have echoed across the Woodland Park newsroom at word of Zisa's downfall. Or was she wailing over how the authorities had beaten her team to Zisa after the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars in news staff salaries?

Two other reporters join the effort today -- Staff Writer Tom Davis, a transportation reporter, and Mike Kelly, a know-it-all columnist.


Davis, with Hackensack reporter Monsy Alvarado, describes the Zisa family's rule under a Page A-6 headline:

Dynasty of public service, iron-fist politics

This story could have appeared weeks ago, months ago, years ago. The Zisas have ruled Hackensack for decades, but The Record and the Borgs didn't seem to have a problem with that. As for Kelly, I didn't bother reading more than a few graphs of his warmed-over drivel.

The "iron fist" reference reminded me of my years in the Hackensack newsroom, where Sykes,  Frank Scandale and the other lazy, incompetent editors ruled their respective turfs like so many petty dictators -- with carte blanche from the Borg family.

In the Local section today, it's business as usual: No education, development, municipal or any other news about Hackensack, the Bergen County seat and one of the most diverse communities in North Jersey.