Sloppy reporting, editing again shake readers' confidence

The round-trip fare on NJ Transit's No. 165 Turnpike Express from Hackensack to midtown Manhattan is $9, but only $4.10 for seniors. The Record's front-page photo caption on a bus collision in Newark doesn't mention one of the drivers may have run a red light, according to officials.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Sloppy reporting and editing in The Record's Page 1 account of a fatal bus collision in Newark is bad enough (A-1 and A-3).

But how do you explain the lack of proofreading on the Local front that led the paper to report the lawyer representing two women appeared to call for dismissal of their suit against a Catholic school (L-1)?

That's right.

The caption under a photo of Kate Drumgoole and wife Jaclyn Vanore actually says their lawyer, Larry Kleiner "argued at a hearing at the Bergen County Courthouse seeking to dismiss Drumgoole's discrimination suit against Paramus Catholic High School."

Obviously, the word "against" is missing. 

The lawyer argued against the dismissal motion, but the caption is written so poorly readers don't find that out until deep on the continuation page (L-2).

The way the caption is written readers might think the "hearing" is "seeking  to dismiss" the suit. 

Also, the caption on NorthJersey.com under the same photo used in the print edition identifies the lawyer as Eric Kleiner, not Larry Kleiner.

The women are represented by both Kleiners.

This photo from The Associated Press shows the NJ Transit bus that was struck by another bus around 6 a.m. on Friday on Broad Street and Raymond Boulevard in downtown Newark.

Fatal bus crash

All morning on Friday, radio news reports on the fatal collision in Newark quoted officials as saying one of the drivers may have run a red light before he T-boned a second bus.

The driver of the NJ Transit bus that may have sped past the light was killed along with a passenger on the second NJ Transit bus that was almost tipped onto its side by the impact.

The Record's front page photo over line and caption today make no mention of the red-light investigation.

As for the story on A-3, Staff Writers Christopher Maag and Nicholas Pugliese report the bus driven by Joseph Barthelus, 70, was empty.

He died in the collision.

However, The Record's story lacks the details of other accounts, including that Barthelus' bus left no skid marks.

Also, the two NJ Transit buses involved in the collision are used on local routes. 

They are smaller and not as heavy as the so-called cruiser buses used on routes to and from Manhattan, and may not afford as much protection to drivers and passengers in crashes.