Veteran editor romances former U.S. judge

Governor Christie in 2008. Who was under the desk? (Wikipedia)

In his many years with The Record, Tim Nostrand was promoted to head of the local-news operation, then demoted and finally pushed aside and given the title of "projects editor."

Before I left the paper in 2008, I watched Staff Writer John Brennan go into Nostrand's nearby office to loudly promote his latest story, and the editor promising to sell the piece for the front page just to get rid of the fast-talking moron.

So, what did Nostrand do to end up writing a story for Page 1 today? Has he been busted down to reporter or public relations flunkie? 

Dusts off cliches

Nostrand resorts to just about every cliche in the book to shill for an autobiography by Herbert J. Stern, a former  federal prosecutor and judge.

Why is this on the front page of the Sunday edition?

This is a masterful job of selective reporting by Nostrand, who mentions Stern's role as monitor for the "scandal-plagued" University of Medicine and Denistry, but not the enormous legal fees the ex-judge landed.

Nostrand conveniently leaves out all the controversy, as this excerpt from Wikipedia shows:

Controversy over federal monitorship

In 2006, Stern was appointed by Chris Christie, who was then serving as the United States Attorney for New Jersey, to the $500-per-hour post of federal monitor, following Christie's approval of a deferred prosecution agreement with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which had admitted committing Medicare fraud. Stern's law firm, Stern and Kilcullen, received a reported $8 million in legal fees from the contract. Stern, some of his partners, and their wives have since each made the maximum contribution of $3,400 to Christie's gubernatorial campaign, resulting in a total contribution of $23,800 (and $47,600 in public matching funds). State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D) has called for Christie to return the money in order to avoid giving New Jersey taxpayers the impression of a pay-to-play relationship.^[5]

What a disgrace. Shame on Christie, Stern and Nostrand, and Editor Marty Gottlieb, who put this tripe on the front page.

Live and let liver

The compelling, well-written account of a liver transplant between cousins is illustrated with terrific photos by Tom Franklin and Carmine Galasso, yet it is weighed down by its length and unnecessary transplant statistics (A-1).  

You have to plow through all of that text to find out the operation began on July 31, but the A-1 photo caption states inexplicably the surgery occurred "earlier this year." 

Little local news

For yet another day, there is little municipal news and nothing from Hackensack in the Local section run so poorly by head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza.

On the Business front, what's the point of the long story about a retail clothing chain started by the "richest man in Japan," if it tells readers nothing about the quality or value of the products in its stores (B-1).

Chief overeater

All of that overeating has tired out Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung, who today appeals to readers to tell her about the best-selling food in North Jersey restaurants, delis and markets (BL-1).

The results certainly will be interesting, but ultimately unreliable -- like all of the opinions on sites such as Yelp! 

Kelly needs help

On the Opinion front, conservative Columnist Mike Kelly appoints himself an expert on orators and presidential campaigns (O-1). 

I have some advice for the veteran columnist: Seek out experts on writing and reporting to teach you some new tricks. 

You are one of those chiefly responsible for how boring the paper has become.