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| Image via Wikipedia Garden State Plaza. Does the parkway "meet" Routes 4 and 17 in the same place? |
The Record's crack assignment desk forced Lindy Washburn, one of the medical writers, to prostitute herself by covering the debut of a "high-tech" parking system at Garden State Plaza -- and it put the story on Page 1 today.
The word must have come down from Publisher Stephen A. Borg in the front office -- where he maintains a "front" for serious journalism. It's payback time for Macy's and other major retailers that fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to advertise in the paper.
I can recall leafing through the first copies off the press in Hackensack, looking for typos and other errors, and hearing News Copy Desk Co-Slot Nancy Cherry say about all of the full-page store ads, "Thank, God, for Macy's. Thank, God, for Macy's."
Going out on a limb
The centerpiece on the front page is a story that is about six weeks overdue -- regulators don't really monitor whether utilities prune trees to avoid the disaster that occurred after the pre-Halloween snow storm.
Poor first-day coverage of the storm contributed to the trick-or-treat firing of Francis "Frank" Scandale after more than a decade as editor.
More A-1 space is wasted on those nine thugs from the Wayne Hills High School team charged with aggravated assault.
Interim Editor Doug Clancy, who lives in neighboring Pequannock, thinks Bergen County readers are hanging on every word about the "weeks of controversy."
Fat of the land
On A-3 today, a story reports former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff joins a former federal judge, a former attorney-general and others in landing a lucrative consulting contract.
Staff Writer Shawn Boburg reports the Port Authority has quietly doubled Chertoff's $300,000 fee and given him six months more to complete a study. Chertoff said his dog ate his homework.
Leave it to head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes to put a positive spin on school-busing cutbacks in a story that leads her Local section today.
Of course, the story doesn't mention the lack of school busing in Hackensack may have contributed to the death of a 12-year-old Middle School student killed by an NJ Transit train as he was walking home along an unfenced stretch of track last year.
Handicapped writing
Editor Liz Houlton's news copy desk missed a major error in the first paragraph of the Road Warrior column on L-1 today: Routes 4 and 17 and the Garden State Parkway do not "meet" or intersect in the same place.
The L-3 obituary on a retired bishop says he died from injuries suffered in a motor vehicle accident, but not where it occurred or whether he was driving.
There is no Hackensack news in Sykes' section today nor any municipal news from the vast majority of the 90 or so towns in the circulation area, though editors found room for yet another story on burglaries in Tenafly, where Borg lives (L-2).
Did anybody read sports Columnist Tara Sullivan, who falls flat on her face trying to re-invent language today (S-1)? Writing about two receivers, she says awkwardly:
"They grew up only a few North Jersey borders and a few high school seasons apart...."
Oh how I remember the days when Mac treated valuable employees like gold. Now we're nothing but trash to be disgarded at whim. What a shame such a wonderful place to work has degraded so badly.
ReplyDeletePerfectly put. Since the son took over, I have never heard the word "thank you."
ReplyDeleteNew paper, daily tab, Garden State Journal, published straight out of Hackensack, going to be a real challenge to The Record, and will probably singlehandedly "save" Main Street
ReplyDeleteHa Ha Ha
The Borg Family allways looked down on there employees, NJMG history reflects this. The President will never say Thank You he was raised with a Golden Fork in his mouth and cant get out the words Thank You. Fork You President!
ReplyDeleteWhy would he say thank you? Every employee is a boil on his ass.
ReplyDeleteAmen. A company that no longer cares. But the staff has known that for years...since the emergence of Dear Leader. It is a company that cannot even tell its own story. Take notice that the corporate website has disappeared...the sign is gone from the GMP building. A noncompetitive website. All the result of the young, brash marketing genius at work. Perhaps in the mind of its owners, it is a company that no longer exists because it cannot be sold.
ReplyDeleteOpen note to Jennifer: ask for your share now while there may be still something to ask for.
A boil-covered ass. That must be a sight to behold for his wife. LOL.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about Jennifer. She's a shrewd one, bending the law to her will.