 |
| The New York Times building in Manhattan, across from the midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal. (Wikipedia) |
Editor Marty Gottlieb says he will put a lack of diversity among The Record's news columnists "on my list."
Gottlieb listed Columnists Charles Stile, Bill Ervolino and Mike Kelly as among his "strongest writers," but didn't mention Road Warrior John Cichowski.
He called sports staffer Tara Sullivan a "beautiful writer," noting that is why he likes running her columns on Page 1.
Gottlieb, who took over the Woodland Park newsroom two months ago, spoke on Monday to a class of senior citizens, many of whom are longtime readers and fans of The Record, and they gave him a warm welcome.
He also answered questions from members of the "In The Record" class, part of the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Bergen Community College in Paramus.
All-white columnists
One class member noted The Record once had black, Hispanic and female news columnists, and that at least one of the current columnists has been at it for 20 years.
Asked if he felt it was time for greater diversity and fresher column voices, Gottlieb said he will put the lack of diversity on his list.
"You're only as good as your reporters," he said in answering another question -- on where story ideas come from.
He said those ideas come from both reporters and editors, noting he asked Staff Writer Stephanie Akin to follow her recent in-depth piece on a homeless man with a profile of his rescuer.
Returning to his roots
"I'm proud to be here [at The Record]," Gottlieb said, listing Akin, Mary Jo Layton, Pat Alex, Leslie Brody and Lindy Washburn as among the "terrific" and "talented" members of the staff.
Gottlieb recalled his job interview at the end of 2011 with the Borg family -- Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg, Publisher Stephen A. Borg and General Counsel Jennifer A. Borg.
Mac walked into the room and asked if Gottlieb knew how long it had been since he had worked as a reporter at The Record when it was in Hackensack (1971 to the end of 1973).
"Exactly 38 years," the elder Borg said, then mentioned that he wanted to go after Public Service Electric & Gas Co. for the terrible job it did restoring power after the freak October snowstorm.
Gottlieb said Stephen Borg talked about "hard-hitting local reporting," and Jennifer Borg discussed the freedom of information lawsuits she likes to file.
None of the Borgs talked about "watching the bottom line."
Gottlieb called them "real people with a real commitment to journalism" who "wanted a tougher, better paper."
Sought the job
Without mentioning the Halloween firing of Francis "Frank" Scandale after more than a decade as editor, Gottlieb said he learned of the opening from some of the 45 Record alumni who worked at The New York Times.
He said he called the Borg family and expressed interest in running the paper. The Borgs could have sold out to Gannett and retire to Florida, but chose not to, he noted.
He said he spent about four years running the Times-owned, Paris-based International Herald Tribune and had the choice of returning to a reporting job in New York or seeking the editorship of The Record.
"My roots and my heart will always be here," he said.
Local news reporter
He recalled his "formative years" covering Oradell, River Edge and New Milford for The Record, including ratables, budgets and other local issues.
He said that experience helped him at other newspapers, whether writing about New York neighborhoods or the European Union's $100 billion budget.
Gottlieb, who is 64, is of medium build with a full head of white hair and a deep voice. He wore a dark suit and gray tie on Monday.
He gave the class a glimpse of his management style when he noted, "I pace all day."
Today's front page
Gottlieb also spoke about the stories on Page 1 today.
From home, he had a discussion with the Sunday editors, asking them to figure out how they could run the story on disappearing pay phones along with all the serious news slated for A-1.
The editor said he strives for a front-page with a "range of different stories that appeal to readers in different ways."
Gottlieb said Staff Writer Jay Levin's "phone-booth" story "invigorated an entire page." He noted the "load of smiles" in the BCC classroom at mention of the piece.
The Record gives readers "added value" by reporting what no other medium does -- such as today's A-1 "walk-up" to the trial of suspended Hackensack Police Chief Ken Zisa or the story on a failing Paterson school that is getting big federal rescue grants.
What readers think
But it's clear from today's paper that Gottlieb's vision doesn't always get translated into great or even good journalism by such sub-editors as head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and Production Editor Liz Houlton, who supervises the news copy desk.
For example, the first paragraph of the Zisa trial preview on A-1 is poorly written and edited, especially the awkward phrase at the end -- "charges he will share in part with a former girlfriend."
Defendants do not "share" charges.
The drop headline on the Zisa story is preposterous:
Drawn-out case has
Hackensack in limbo
What's the basis for that? Did the reporter interview residents? No. She quotes gadfly Kathy Canestrino as saying Zisa's long-standing legal troubles have "put a lot of things in limbo."
Inducing vomit
On the front of Sykes' Local section, Kelly's column on the new Overpeck Park merely regurgitates a lot of his previous column on the county park.
And does anyone but Gottlieb think what follows is great writing?
The new park, Kelly writes, "overlooks the northern end of the New Jersey Turnpike like a sparkling emerald amid a river of concrete roadways and the steely swoosh of cars and trucks."
Oh, say, can't you just hear that "steely swoosh"?
And contrary to the strong local news coverage Gottlieb promotes, Sykes fails to deliver the municipal news readers in Hackensack desperately need.
Today, there are three major pieces from Englewood, and all Hackensack readers get is yet another chapter in the Zisa legal-problems saga, which has been covered ad nauseum for nearly three years.
Related articles
'Eye on The Record' will return soon
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you want your comment to appear, refrain from personal attacks on the blogger. Anonymous comments are no longer accepted. Keep your racism to yourself.