Readers eagerly awaiting Gannett changes in news coverage

Three allies of the Zisa family political machine enjoying drinks at the Picco Tavern in Hackensack on Thursday night as guests arrived to attend a fundraiser for Citizens for Change, the political organization that elected Mayor John Labrosse and other members of the City Council in 2013. They took photos of guests and urged at least one attendee not to go upstairs to the gathering. They are, from left, Board of Education Attorney Richard Salkin; Lynne B. Hurwitz, head of the city's Democratic Party; and her husband, Howard, executive director of the Northwest Bergen Utilities Authority.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Two Gannett veterans, Nancy A. Meyer and Robert A. Green, took over this past Tuesday, so readers are eagerly anticipating changes in The Record's news coverage.

How long they will have to wait is anyone's guess in view of another sensational crime story leading today's front page, and a silly A-1 sports column about an athlete 90% of readers have never heard of.

Green is the new editor, replacing veteran Deirdre Sykes, who held the job for all of seven months and a week; and Meyer is the new president of North Jersey Media Group, the post held by multi-millionaire Stephen A. Borg of Tenafly.

9/11: 15 years later

Fatigue is setting in over The Record's week-long 15th anniversary coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Today, there is another embarrassing story about the original flag in Photographer Thomas E. Franklin's photo that doesn't mention the editors put the dramatic image on a back page on Sept. 12, 2001 (A-1 and L-1). 

Typical of the screw-ups that plague the Woodland Park daily under six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton is that A-1 readers are referred to the wrong page for the full story on the installation of the flag at the 9/11 Museum (it's L-1, not A-8). 

Also, after three solid days of wordy Bridgegate trial previews this week, nothing appears today, when jury selection is to start.

Wacko Donald Trump

Sadly, The Record's harshest words about wacko racist Donald J. Trump and his unsuitability for the presidency don't appear in editorials.

Instead, Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin's opinion column today slams both Trump and the "bad journalism" of NBC's Matt Lauer (A-19).

This reminds you of The Record's own bad journalism in running numerous Charles Stile columns putting a positive political spin on Governor Christie's every veto, and his war on the middle and working classes in New Jersey.

And, of course, The Record remains the only major New Jersey daily that hasn't called for the resignation of Christie for endorsing Trump.

Six of those papers are owned by Gannett, as is The Record.

Have a heart

Before you tackle some of the recommended dishes at Hearth & Tap Co. in Montvale, you might want to knock back a few of the gastropub's barrel-aged cocktails to make you forget just how unhealthy they are (BL-14).

Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung's Good to Excellent review promotes several artery clogging dishes, including a cheesy crab dip, egg-and-pork belly flatbread, steak and porter pie, and toffee bread pudding.