Editors pay back big advertisers

Image by tsImhein via Flickr

Black Friday shoppers. In recent years, The Record of Woodland Park has completely ignored downtowns in Hackensack, Teaneck, Englewood and other towns.

After being beaten senseless by the repetition of Black Friday advertising and news on TV, readers awaken to a front page dominated by a shopping story as The Record pays homage to the many big retailers that keep it in business.

I do have to congratulate Staff Writers Kathleen Lynn and Joan Verdon -- two Business section veterans -- for finding Marisol Vasquez, a pregnant, 33-year-old teacher from Bergenfield, who actually needed to shop on Thursday night to save money.

The headlines and photo with the Page 1 story are uninspiring, however.  

The shoppers look confused and not very happy. And, of course, all this emphasis on sales at big stores obscures the struggles of Main Street merchants throughout North Jersey.

Thuggish athletes

It's good to see the nine thugs on the Wayne Hills High School football team won't be playing in a championship game, but why does interim Editor Doug Clancy think the story should lead the paper today (A-1)?

And the third story on A-1 -- an upbeat account about North Jersey doctors dedicated to helping Haiti -- deserves far better play.

Local yokels

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section is a complete loss.

Can the photo over line on L-1 be any more unimaginative, especially when a heavy duty truck appears to be headed for the skies in a freak accident involving a crane boom?

CRANE TOPPLES IN WYCKOFF

DURING JOB AT HOUSE

Poor Tariq Zehawi, the staff photographer who raced out of the office to get this spectacular shot.

I can't imagine what Production Editor Liz Houlton is telling the news copy editors she is supervising to get such dull writing. 

COPY EDITOR MOVES BOWELS

DURING SHIFT AT PAPER

The entire Local front today is police and fire news or news about cops and firefighters. There is nothing from Hackensack in the section.