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| Editor Marty Gottlieb of The Record has been focusing a lot of attention on preliminary 9/11 hearings in Cuba, not the many problems facing residents who live in North Jersey. |
Editor Marty Gottlieb gives us another disappointing Sunday edition today, leading Page 1 of The Record with more on a Wayne couple's reaction to 9/11 hearings in Cuba.
The main headline says "trial," but the text reports they were "preliminary hearings." Readers remain alienated and confused.
In keeping with the media's focus on trying to predict the future, Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson does his best in a so-called ANALYSIS to guess what tax rates will be on Jan. 1.
Ultimately, the densely written, eye-glazing story produces a lot of heat, but not much light.
The only words in the story you can bank on appear in the graphic on A-8: "If Congress does nothing ..."
The vast majority of readers stare at the other three elements on Page 1 and mutter, What does that have to do with me?
Too little, too late
Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes leads her Local news sections with reports on the freeholder races in Bergen and Passaic counties, but the photos and profiles come too late for 22,000 voters who received and returned mail-in ballots (L-1).
The freeholder stories would have run sooner, if the Local section didn't waste the space on all those photos showing rollover accidents on North Jersey roads and highways or downed utility poles.
Ignoring reality
Today's Road Warrior column ignores the region's traffic and mass-transit crises to answer more complaining e-mails from drivers upset with the MVC (L-1).
Friday's Road Warrior column also was based on reader e-mails, and had something to do with road signs and E-ZPass, though I just scanned it.
Donut-hole news
New Milford Police Chief Frank Papapietro reports another luring attempt, this one at the Dunkin' Donuts on River Road, a police substation (L-1).
The drought on Hackensack municipal news continues today.
Dishing the dirt
Today's Better Living cover is dominated by The Corner Table column, which is supposed to deal with issues facing restaurant goers in North Jersey (BL-1).
Instead, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung writes about three rich guys who eat out a lot and tweet about it. Who cares?
Where is Mike Kelly?
On the Opinion front, readers are told, "Record Columnist Mike Kelly is away from the office on a short leave."
That's about as hard to comprehend as one of Kelly's columns.
Did he get hit by a car? Is he ill? Or maybe he's on vacation or "investigating" something.
One thing is for sure. Few readers miss him.
Mr Sasson,how do reporters report on stories that are police related? Do they go to the Police station and talk to Police or do they read reports on criminal activities that took place in that town that day? Are the police aloud to give reporters this information? What is the system involed in getting information from the police and have them written in the newspaper? What are reporters intitled to by law to recieve from police for the public?.Thank You.
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs some serious editing here?
ReplyDeleteWas this person a 'graduate' of the Paterson schools? Or perhaps they are a teacher in the Paterson schools?
Thank God I live in Saddle River.
In a privately owned company, an owner can do whatever he wants regarding money.
Any employee who does not like it can simply quit.
Any reader can stop buying its product
To the moron from Saddle Sore, who are you referring to by "this person"?
ReplyDeletePerhaps this moron?
ReplyDeleteMr Sasson,how do reporters report on stories that are police related? Do they go to the Police station and talk to Police or do they read reports on criminal activities that took place in that town that day? Are the police aloud to give reporters this information? What is the system involed in getting information from the police and have them written in the newspaper? What are reporters intitled to by law to recieve from police for the public?.Thank You.
I apologize for the delay in answering the first question, about police news.
ReplyDeleteLaw enforcement could send routine news to the media in the form of e-mailed press releases, and the information also is accessible on the Web sites of the state police, prosecutor's offices and so forth.
Agencies also stage press conferences to announce the seizure of guns, drugs, counterfeit money and so forth.
The Record gathers a lot of crime news by telephone, so in many cases editors and reporters don't really have a rapport with the sources of the information.
In some cases, reporters go to police headquarters for information. In a lot of small towns, only the chief can release information.
Before I left The Record in 2008, one reporter would contact all of the departments in North Jersey by phone at night, and only go out if there was something really big.
During the day, the editors employ one or more police reporters who do nothing else, but on the weekends, all of the reporters are expected to cover crime news at one time or another.
Many years ago, The Record battled with the Hackensack police chief over the release of information after the paper published critical stories about the police department.
Readers can tell from stories on major crimes or police shootings that Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli keeps a tight lid on information, and that editors rarely ask reporters to seek out witnesses and others to fill in the blanks.
Recently, Staff Writer Richard Cowen actually interviewed employees at an NJ Transit bus garage and found out a lot of information about a bus driver who was killed in a love-triangle murder-suicide that hadn't been released by the police or prosecutor.
But, sadly, that is rare enterprise from the paper's supremely lazy assignment desk.
Are you talking about Zisa in this Oct.25 article? What is the relationship with The Record and the members of Zisaville(Zisa Family)? Is the coverage of the Zisa trial a form of payback? Thank You.
ReplyDeleteI was confused because you were asking about an Oct. 25 post in a comment on the Oct. 21 post.
ReplyDeleteI don't think coverage of the Zisa trial was payback, though The Record clearly leaned toward the defendant more than the prosecution.
The only connection between Zisa and the paper is that his defense attorney, Patricia Prezioso, belongs to the same law firm as attorney Bruce Rosen, a former reporter who has represented Mac Borg in his battle against a synagogue on his block as well as the paper in First Amendment cases.