More space for the dead than the living

Drivers crawling along Route 46, above, and Route 80 on Friday night wonder why The Record pays so little attention to the problems of North Jersey commuters.

Readers aren't the only ones who have noticed how little local news appears in The Record -- thanks to the apparent disinterest of head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza.

The paper's own employees decided to give today's Local section more pages for death notices and advertising (5) than for news, feature stories and photos (3).

Readers looking for municipal news in those 3 pages will be disappointed.

Sands of Sandy

The lead story reports on how resourceful local officials were in communicating with residents during Superstorm Sandy, but doesn't explain why Sykes and Sforza needed nearly six weeks to present this dated information (L-1).

On L-3, readers will find big news from Moonachie -- "purchases are being made to replace equipment lost during the storm," according to the breathless first paragraph.

Stealth correction

Also on L-3, a follow-up on a fatal head-on collision on the New Jersey Turnpike corrects a major error in the original story overlooked by Production Editor Liz Houlton -- the time the accident occurred.

On the Local front, Road Warrior John Cichowski does another masterful job of assembling readers' anecdotes, sent in by e-mail, on the compelling issue of finding a parking space at the mall during the holidays (L-1).

Seeing this, readers stuck in monumental traffic jams on Friday night, and those who fought for seats on trains and buses leaving Manhattan, began tearing their hair out over how little attention Cichowski pays to his mission of reporting on commuting problems.

Sleeping editors

Sykes and Sforza are Cichowski's bosses, and they apparently endorse his almost total reliance on reader e-mails for column ideas and ignore all of the errors that appear in his work. 

Assembling reader e-mails into a column is a job a news clerk could do as well for tens of thousands of dollars less each year.

Siding with police

Sykes and Sforza also are treating the Nov. 25 death of robbery suspect Rickey McFadden, 47, of Leonia as just another black man killed by police officers.

Readers, including those who wrote letters to the editor, have yet to see an explanation of why the three cops who fired 17 times at the mentally unstable McFadden didn't use non-fatal rubber bullets or less force.

Or why two officers from Palisades Park had to help Leonia cops respond to the robbery report.

Another dull Sunday 

Today's front page has readers wondering what Editor Marty Gottlieb learned during all the years he spent with The New York Times in New York and Paris.

The top of the page is dominated by two more installments in the flood of Sandy recovery stories.

A third A-1 story and a column amount to little more than speculative political pieces guaranteed to alienate readers sick and tired of how the media exploits the partisan divide in New Jersey and the nation.

And the middle of the front page carries a photo from some high school football playoff that is of absolutely no interest to the vast majority of readers.

If  there are more obituaries in Local than news about the living, why make Page 1 so deadly dull? 

More life and death

In Better Living, contrast the cover story on the health benefits of a wheat-free diet and Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung's continued celebration of artery clogging desserts (The Corner Table column). 

Ignoring the advice of cardiologists, Ung traveled to the boondocks (Warren County) to promote the Ryland Inn's $2 million renovation and $12 serving of Skippy Peanut Butter, Valhrona Chocolate and ice cream (BL-3).



A note on the Opinion front tells readers Columnist Mike Kelly continues to recover from a heart attack.

His few fans can look forward to his eventual return and column after column about how a seemingly healthy man flirted with death.

Or he could retire. Which do you prefer?