Friday, April 29, 2011

Praise the Lord for police shootings

Great Falls in Paterson NJImage by Tony the Misfit via Flickr
The Editorial Page editor wants to consolidate Wayne and Paterson schools. For his next act, Alfred P. Doblin will try to go over the Great Falls in a barrel.

Editors Francis Scandale and Deirdre Sykes are desperately praying for another police shooting to fill news columns -- just as an incident did on the front page today and on the Local front Thursday. 

So, why did the fatal shooting of a suspect end up on Local, while the wounding of another is all over Page 1 today in The Record of Woodland Park?

Three photos on A-1 and A-10 show nothing more than police officers walking or standing around and "beginning to investigate," according to the wildly optimistic caption. 

Screw the union

The turnpike's unionized toll collectors will be allowed to keep their jobs, but their average $65,000 salaries will be cut more than $15,000 by July 2012 (A-1).

Compare that to the immediate $10,000 cut in the salary of reporter Elaine D'Aurizio, who has since retired, and other staffers engineered by Publisher Stephen A. Borg, with the advice and consent of Scandale and other editors.

A graphic on A-1 Wednesday was so cockeyed it required a long correction today on A-2, along with five corrections from Thursday's school board election results.

Come back later

You won't find the suspect's name in the Page 1 shooting story or even a description, nor is the officer or officers who shot him identified. In the fatal shooting story on L-1 Thursday, the officer's identity also was withheld.

Governor Christie's spokesman had noting to say about a new name for Xanadu -- American Dream Meadowlands -- or a fall 2013 opening date (A-1).

Many reporters for The Record appear to stand there with their hands out for information, and don't argue when told to come back later or call me tomorrow.

LOL at Doblin

What a hoot. Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin knows there's absolutely zero chance of success for his school-district consolidation plan -- combining Paterson and Wayne, Newark and Milburn, and others across the state (A-21).

But he doesn't tell readers why: Most white suburbanites will fight to the death for their "neighborhood schools" to avoid having their kids rub shoulders with blacks and Hispanics in neighboring towns.

After all, didn't Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg send young Stephen to a private high school in Englewood for just that reason?

Dumb and dumber

Today's Road Warrior column on L-1 is a case of dumb readers' questions and dumber answers.

Where is the Teaneck reporter? An item on L-5 carries the Hackensack reporter's tag line.

Fat of the land

Did Grissini in Englewood Cliffs bribe Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung for her "Good to Excellent" rating in Better Living today?

Ung says she was served "gummy" cake for $12, "dry" veal for $38, "overcooked and dry" salmon fillet for $29 and shrimp with disgusting, dangling "dark veins" for $28 -- yet she bestows two and a half stars on the so-called fine-dining restaurant.

She also must have been groggy from overindulging when she wrote that the chef "marvels at his freedom to purchase high-quality ingredients." 

But then she fails to tell readers if the overpriced salmon was wild or the filet mignon and veal were raised without antibiotics and growth hormones.

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5 comments:

  1. Mr. Sasson, how much do restaurants usually pay restaurant reviewers for favorable reviews? As a food writer I am sure it has happened to you. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No restaurant has ever paid me for anything.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Where is the Teaneck reporter? An item on L-5 carries the Hackensack reporter's tag line.

    Ax left.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Has anyone else left recently?

    Haven't seen a few bylines lately or is it just an imitation of Jean Rimbach?

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a comment about Elisa Ung's Grissini review that was posted on northjersey.com:

    Friday April 29, 2011, 5:15 PM - Lawman1 says:

    "The problem with these prices is the letdown that comes with a dud. Flourless chocolate cake, recommended by our waiter, was gummy. That veal Milanese, one of the most expensive items on the menu, was dry. And it may have been a misunderstanding that we got plain grilled salmon instead of the salmon with grappa-orange sauce we tried to order, but the fish was overcooked and dry ($29). A nightly special, a rock shrimp risotto with saffron sauce, promised perfection with its creamy rice and sweet rock shrimp ($28). But several of the shrimp weren�t deveined at all, and dark veins dangled haphazardly from others."

    .......Yaaagggghhh ! Don't waste your money on this noisy, mobbed up, over priced,low quality joint when there are so many great places to dine out at in Bergen County. Don't say you were not warned.

    ReplyDelete

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