Editors continue to play catch-up on Fahy suicide

A storefront on Palisade Avenue in Englewood has become an eyesore, remaining empty long after another failed restaurant vacated the premises. The Record continues to turn a blind eye to the struggles of the wealthy city's downtown, as it does to hard-hit business districts in Teaneck and Hackensack.

 

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Editor Marty Gottlieb leads The Record today with another story that attempts to explain why former Bergen County Prosecutor Jay Fahy committed suicide on July 17 (A-1).

The story focuses on a letter informing Fahy that his license to practice law was about to be temporarily suspended because of a billing dispute.

But today's story is inconclusive. 

And readers don't know if reporters have even attempted to talk to Fahy's mother, wife or children since his death.

Why the Woodland Park daily is treading so lightly here is a mystery, given its reputation for intruding into the lives of news subjects.

Sloppy editing

Could the letter from the New Jersey Supreme Court be the same mysterious "piece of paper" mentioned in the lead paragraph of a July 19 story on Fahy's death?

Today's story reports Fahy shot himself on "a Route 17 walkway."

On July 23, an L-1 story said his body was found on "a dingy pedestrian walkway that runs under an NJ Transit bridge."

The news story that ran July 18 said he shot himself the day before "on a sidewalk along Route 17 south."

Floats his boat

Today's Road Warrior column reports on the NY Waterway ferry linking Weehawken and Manhattan, the most elitist and expensive form of mass transit in North Jersey (L-1).

The privately owned ferry has failed to relieve pressure on NJ Transit buses and trains -- which are SRO during rush hours -- but Staff Writer John Cichowski doesn't say whether it makes a profit or is subsidized.

He appears to be trying to drum up business for NY Waterway.

Still unreliable

But Cichowski can't be trusted when he discusses the cost of the ferry and associated travel.

He directly contradicts the ferry's Web site on free shuttle buses in Manhattan, claiming most commuters "must pay cab, bus or subway fare to make the last leg of their trip to work."

Cichowski apparently did the reporting for the column during the recent heat wave, and the column now seems stale.

In his column last Wednesday, Cichowski said only "a few states" exceed New Jersey's rate of seat-belt usage by back-seat passengers. 

In fact, 17 states do, according to the editor of the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers.

Canned copy

In Business, canned copy from The Wall Street Journal lists all of the deals available to seniors at fast-food restaurants, but omits the deep discounts they enjoy on NJ Transit buses and trains (B-4).

Does the NY Waterway ferry have a senior fare?

The perils of using canned or wire-service copy can be seen in today's Travel section cover story, which ostensibly is a column written by Travel Editor Jill Schensul.

How does Schensul explain why she fails to mention a single highway rest stop in New Jersey.

Is it possible she rewrote a travel piece supplied by a national wire service, personalized it a bit and then passed it off as her own?