Paper's credibility takes more hits

On Monday night, the 6:11 local to Trenton from New York was standing room only. One reason we have such horrendous traffic is a bus and train system with too few seats, and little relief is in sight thanks to Governor Christie, who killed new rail tunnels.

One day, the front page of The Record reports a drug-dealing suspect allegedly kept his girlfriend prisoner in a padlocked room for at least two years.

But the next day -- today -- the Woodland Park daily publishes a "never mind."

The woman says the suspect never hit or abused her, and she asked to be locked inside for her own protection (L-1). 

Mean streets

In fact, the Paterson police are doing such a bad job fighting crime, she says she is afraid to go out into her "bad" neighborhood.

On Aug. 4, The Record's front page carried big, black headlines in which a state assemblyman dismissed charges he wrote $400,000 in bad checks. 

Not only that, but he blamed his financial problems on the poor economy and President Obama.

But in almost daily follow-ups, including a story on Page 1 today, the Woodland Park daily has uncovered at least 19 lawsuits claiming businessman Robert Schroeder of Washington Township "appears to owe $15 million."

Hail to the chief

On Tuesday, the Garfield police chief was pilloried on Page 1 for rolling up comp hours worth an extra $33,000. 

But today, he's quoted as saying he has no intention of asking for compensation for attending community events, and the $33,000 figures never appears in the follow-up story.

Who screwed that up? More importantly, can you believe anything you read in The Record?

Selling the paper

Is Publisher Stephen A. Borg so blinded by greed and is Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg so out of it they've failed to notice their flagship paper's widening credibility gap?

Why haven't they noticed the increasing number of sensational, largely unsubstantiated headlines since Editor Marty Gottlieb took over in late January?

Or the huge holes in the local news report under the so-called leadership of head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her chief yes man, Dan Sforza.

Comeback governor?

Readers are wondering whether Governor Christie is going to mention New Jersey's high unemployment rate during his keynote address at the Republican National Convention (A-3).

Or the couple of billion mass-transit dollars he grabbed to fix roads. Or will he list all of the cronies who have gotten high-paying jobs at the Port Authority or in his administration?

Or disclose that in his first 2 years in office, the property tax burden has risen 20% (A-11)?

The suggestion that Christie will use the speech as a springboard for a 2016 or 2020 White House bid doesn't take into account that he'll probably eat himself to death long before that (A-10). 

Penny ante column

On the front of Sykes' Local section, the entire Road Warrior column is devoted to a fee cut of 50 cents for online renewal of auto registrations (L-1).

In another L-1 story, Sykes makes passing reference to the "mad scramble" of commuters running for NJ Transit trains during the evening rush at New York's Penn Station.

But in recent years, coverage of mass transit is so poor, at least one woman who thought train service had been suspended drove onto the tracks at the Montvale station last week. 

Great photos

The front page and the Local front carry two terrific photos today, calling into question why Sykes has used so many fender-bender photos in recent years.

But why did the news copy editor who wrote the caption for the L-1 photo awkwardly say a woman was walking across an overpass "with an umbrella up." It's plain as day. 

No local news today

Don't look for any Hackensack, Englewood or Ridgewood news or news from many other communities in the circulation area.

Newsroom staff members are either on vacation or missing in inaction. Readers must be questioning what some editorial employees do to earn their paychecks.

And they must wonder what Gottlieb and the Borgs are doing not to notice the low productivity of some newsroom workers.