Page 1 Ravi round-up is more pure hype

Syke's warbler suggests the parents of Tyler Clementi of Ridgewood might ask the judge to show leniency when he sentences Dharun Ravi on May 21. See Page 1.

Editor Marty Gottlieb of The Record continues to test the patience of readers with the 15th story on the Darhun Ravi trial since the verdict was reported a week ago today.


Gottlieb's voice has been clear since he took over in late January: Today, the lead paragraph of the Ravi round-up claims the gay-bias case has "captivated the nation."


Recently, a long A-1 story on a homeless man who nearly blew himself up in Hackensack supposedly "captivated the region." The tortured tale of seven Wayne high school athletes "gripped" the township. 


Polishing a turd


Many readers just want to see Ravi deported to the turd world he came from. The jury has spoken. He was found guilty on multiple counts for spying on his gay Rutgers roommate, Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide. 


Ravi declined to testify in his own defense, so why are the media knocking themselves out to publish or air his patently false statements? 


Today's round-up, written by the reporter who covered the trial, is pure hype. It says nothing new, but merely rehashes the last few days of front-page stories, calling them "revelations as surprising and insightful as the trial's outcome."


In the last paragraph on A-1, the story poses a bizarre rhetorical question: whether the Clementis will ask the judge to show leniency to Ravi when he is sentenced May 21. 


Is Gottlieb, with the aid of head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes, just trying to keep the Ravi story alive to sell more papers or has the lazy, incompetent assignment desk run out of any other compelling local news?


Christie setback


For the second day in a row, Governor Christie has suffered another embarrassing defeat, as reported in the lead A-1 story today on Port Authority retirees, who have won back free tolls and parking the GOP bully cut in January 2011.


Can anyone find the sentence in the slanted story with the number of retired electrical workers affected? Does the alleged savings of $1.5 million sound credible?


Why does Sykes report, in her typically lazy fashion, "the benefit would be worth more than $2,000 annually for a daily, weekday commuter traveling at peak hours" (A-3)? 


These are retirees; they don't commute daily at peak hours, for crying out loud.


Local news diet


Hackensack readers searching Sykes' Local section for news find only a brief on the arrest of a prostitute on L-3.


Teaneck news leads the section, and there are three items from Englewood (L-2 and L-6). The Dean's List fills out the section (L-2).


Another great job by Sykes and her dysfunctional assignment desk.