Stupid cops get a pass

Image by Troy Holden via Flickr

"Let go of my story, Frank!" head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes shrieked as she engaged in a tug of war over the news-budget printout with Editor Francis "Frank" Scandale in the Wednesday afternoon news meeting.


"No, bitch, I'm taking that for the front," Scandale shot back. "I can really go tabloid Thursday, making that prisoner sound dangerous and downplaying the stupidity of the cops who allowed him to steal an unmarked car, even though he was bound hand and foot."


"But you already have a state-national story in the FDA warning on those alcoholic energy drinks," Sykes wailed, panting heavily. "Put that on Page 1, and give me the fugitive story -- it's all Bergen, and I don't have anything for my [Local] page except a couple of wires got knocked down by the wind."

"You're loco if you think I'm giving up the prisoner story, cause I don't have anything else to sell the paper with," Scandale said in desperation. 

Well, one look at The Record of Woodland Park today and you know who won the battle over a story  that appears to be deliberately vague about how a suspect who had been arrested, handcuffed and shackled, and placed in the back seat, managed to drive away in an unmarked police car.

Was the engine left running by one of one of New York City's finest or a federal marshal? Were the keys in the ignition of the silver Ford Fusion? Why aren't there any details in the story? 

Did Scandale order the four reporters to chase anything but that crucial information, lest they upset the cops, who have been known to retaliate by withholding arrests and other crime news?

An "update" on northjersey.com says the fugitive was captured at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, a few hours before the paper hit my driveway with news only of his escape and "a large-scale manhunt." Now, that's stale news. 

I didn't even hear anything about the capture on morning radio and TV news, showing how inconsequential the whole thing was. 

Editorial slams Christie

A hard-hitting editorial slams Governor Christie as legislators try to restore his cuts to family planning for poor women (A-10). 

It's a welcome change from all the columns in which Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin praises the Republican bully and kisses his lardy ass.

 
The front of Sykes' Local section leads with those spiked energy drinks, and a dramatic photo of a powerful wind storm that pulled down "several utility wires" onto Route 46 in Wayne, scorching the asphalt. Traffic was backed up for "several miles." Sounds like the end of the world. 


Local is completely empty of municipal news, with the exception of a story on housing in tiny Northvale and another of the endless stream of stories on disciplinary hearings for Hackensack police officers who sued the chief (both on L-2).

Is Kelly brain-dead?

Clueless Columnist Mike Kelly must be the only journalist who thinks New York City might extend its subway to bring Manhattan residents to Secaucus (L-3). 

No, dummy. It would be another  mass-transit option for North Jersey commuters who work in the city, now that Governor Christie has killed the Hudson River rail tunnels.


Better Living's local food coverage today consists of "consensus from our office" on the best packaged turkey gravy. Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung mentions "our panel" and "people" among the tasters. 


Age discrimination has left so few seasoned palates in the newsroom, this might be the opinion of a bunch of 20- and 30-year-olds.

Rich get richer 

Could there by anything more lavish than coverage on the first Business page (L-8) of the opening of a high-end steakhouse at Garden State Plaza, referred to incorrectly as "Plaza" in the drop headline? 


The photo overline is ridiculous. "Far from the food court." What does that mean? A fine-dining restaurant, Legal Sea Foods, opened at this Paramus mall years ago. And the caption says "dining and wine rooms" are "awaiting Capital Grille customers." 


Don't you hate it when a pretentious restaurant adopts the spelling of an automobile grille and not the grill used to cook food?


There are two big photos, a data box and lots of self-promoting quotes from restaurant executives, but little about the quality of the food. It serves swordfish, which is high in mercury, and dry-aged  mystery meat.



Despite the recession, high-end steakhouses continue to open in North Jersey, while a reasonably priced chain, such as Charlie Brown's, is closing restaurants (L-11). 


It only goes to show you the rich (and the Borgs) are getting richer and the rest of us are getting poorer.