Clueless media are complicit in obesity epidemic

The opening of a licensed Starbucks Coffee at the Target store in Hackensack has been delayed. On Wednesday, a security guard said the Starbucks is scheduled to open on Sept. 23. It would be the second Starbucks in Hackensack.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor


The one and only column I ever wrote for The Record of Hackensack blasted fellow reporters for making fun of Joseph "JoJo" Giorgianni, a 565-pound Trenton restaurant owner who was convicted in 1980 of carnally abusing and debauching the morals of a 14-year-old girl.

But -- as someone who has struggled with his weight since age 13 -- I have come to realize that people like Giorgianni, Governor Christie and the obese local editors at The Record simply don't have the discipline or will power to deny themselves fattening food.

Food porn

Not that they are getting much help from the media, as today's lavish Better Living cover story on new Italian and French bakeries demonstrates (BL-1).

Today's ode to "refined treats" is by Staff Writer Elisa Ung, the Woodland Park daily's chief restaurant reviewer, who has made no secret of her obsession with dessert.

Since 2007, her orgasmic descriptions of fattening, artery clogging cakes and pastries have crowded out stories on healthy, nutritious fare -- a disservice to readers who are fighting the battle of the bulge.

Ung has plenty of company, especially among the reporters who have wasted hundreds of thousands of words trying to whip up a controversy over New York City's attempted ban on large drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, which is linked to the obesity epidemic.

Obesity politics

On Page 1 today, Columnist Charles Stile tries to make a big deal over a comment by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono, who said:

"I don't know about you, but seeing Chris Christie frolicking on the beach is not going to drive me to go to the Jersey shore."

Stiles said the context of the comment was "a withering critique that accused Christie of turning a taxpayer-funded Shore promotional campaign into a reelection ad ...."

Many failures

But Christie -- trying to deflect attention from his failure to revive the shore after Superstorm Sandy -- complained Buono's comment "was mocking his ample girth," Stile reports.

Of course, Stile and other reporters know Christie is as much a failure in trying to control his weight as he is in so many other areas -- such as reviving the state economy, expanding mass transit and championing the middle class.

But Stile, Staff Melissa Hayes and others have ignored his weight problem in the same way they have ignored his many flaws and broken promises.

In response to Wednesday's post, All of a sudden, Christie is sensitive about his weight, I received two anonymous comments:

Anonymous September 4, 2013 at 8:26 PM

I'm sorry, but I've got to throw my 2 cents in here. When is it going to become NOT ok to torment someone about their weight? Politics aside, obesity is a struggle. In 2003 I had weight loss surgery. It saved my life. And, weight and all, I still managed devote 40 years of my life to that little rag that was formerly printed in Hackensack. Please lets stop picking on people because they're fat.

Anonymous September 5, 2013 at 6:46 AM

I appreciate Victor making the comments. There is no room in this world for fat people. They're taking up all the space for everyone else. Victor and his fat-hate speech is welcome in their politically correct time, no matter what people say.

More errors

The last two attempts by Road Warrior John Cichowski to discuss school-bus inspections were riddled with errors and contradictions, according to a concerned reader:

"In his column on Wednesday, the Road Warrior turns into a repeat offender for failing to report accurately and responsibly about MVC inspections for school bus safety as he misdirects parents and provides them with unreliable and contradictory information.

"He engaged in similar offenses in his Sept. 1 column about this same topic.

"The Road Warrior fails or is unable to do his job to provide a specific MVC Web site sub-link address so readers can quickly get to the referenced school bus inspection results.

"He indicated that initial bus inspections generally put as much as 40% of a local fleet out of service, even though MVC Web site's reported results show as much as 60%, 70%, and in one case 100% of a local fleet out of service after inspections.

"Road Warrior looks even more foolish when he states that car owners complain about taking a few minutes out of their busy schedules for emissions inspections when he has frequently reported about the endless inspection lines, which many times are more than one hour."

Read the full e-mail on the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers, including details on how Cichowski -- "The Addled Commuter" -- mangled statistics on school-bus fatalities from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, quoting  them inaccurately:

Road Warrior won't go back to school