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| Image via Wikipedia President Obama giving his 2010 State of the Union address. |
The Record has been less than objective when it comes to President Barack Obama, so it was a pleasant surprise to see an even-handed approach to his State of the Union address on the front page today.
The Woodland Park daily used a balanced story from The Washington Post instead of running the usual, shrill account from The Associated Press.
I don't know whether that was the work of Martin "Marty" Gottlieb, the new editor, but a look at the rest of the paper shows he has many months of hard work ahead of him, if he intends to improve the clunky headlines, slanted reporting and slipshod editing.
The major element on Page 1 is the arrest of an "anti-Semitic loner" in attacks on two synagogues, but the awkward main headline leaves readers shaking their heads.
Firebomb attacks
delivered by bike
"Delivered by bike"? Did the suspect "deliver" firebomb attacks? Hey, Editor Liz Houlton, supervisor of the news copy desk, doesn't that make it sound like Chinese takeout?
Super Toilet Bowl
And as usual, precious A-1 space is devoted to the cost of attending the Super Bowl, demoting the debate over same-sex marriage to A-3.
A story on politicians' tax returns on A-8 prompts Eye on The Record to predict Obama will defeat the Republican nominee in November, whether it is the $20 million man, Mitt Romney, or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who can't keep his cock in his pants.
But, of course, The Record and other media will keep readers guessing until the last possible moment as they play up all the conflict and make it sound like a horse race, even if it isn't.
I was expecting to see an A-10 editorial on Obama's plea for the middle class, but his speech ran late and I guess it was past the bedtime of Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin.
Road manure
After an unexplained absence on Sunday, Road Warrior John Cichowski returns today with another column based entirely on readers' e-mails -- this time about paying tolls with and without an E-ZPass. Ground breaking.
When is the last time Cichowski wrote a column based on his own legwork, such as asking commuters at bus stops or train stations to tell him what's on their minds?
The major element on head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local front is another negative story -- the second in a row -- about a proposal to extend electrified light-rail service to Tenafly, where Publisher Stephen A. Borg lives.
The poorly edited piece violates a basic rule of journalism, raising "pollution" worries in the lead paragraph, but never discussing them in the rest of the story.
Defending their constitutional right to drive solo into the city, Tenafly residents are so desperate to stop the project they asked NJ Transit officials at a hearing about the horrible possibility light-rail riders might need to use a restroom in town.
Editing is suspect
Also on L-1, a plea for donations to help a Korean international student who was robbed and stabbed in Paramus makes readers wonder why Sykes hasn't run a big story seeking donations for other injured or sick residents who don't have health insurance.
A police sketch of the suspect in the attack on the 19-year-old woman appears on Cliffside Pilot.com, but not in The Record.
On L-3, a fatal accident involving three cars, all driven by senior citizens, killed an 84-year-old Paterson woman, but only her name and age are given, reducing the story to a photo-op.
Who was she, is her spouse still alive, did she raise children or have a career, does she have grandchildren? Those questions and others are unanswered by Sykes' crack assignment desk.
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