Editing out Christie's role in health-care problems

If you take the train, count yourself lucky to get one of NJ Transit's comfortable double-deckers, but find a seat on the lower level, above, to avoid cracking your skull on the upper level's low, poorly designed luggage rack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

As one of The Record's top reporters, veteran Lindy Washburn should know better.

In stories dating to at least July, Washburn and her unnamed assignment editor have been reporting on the lack of choice and the higher premiums facing New Jersey residents under Affordable Care Act reforms.

On the front page July 17, Washburn reported:

"In New Jersey, only four companies have announced plans to offer coverage through the federally run exchange. New York, by contrast, has 17 companies providing room for more competition."

But on July 17, the editors were reluctant to tell readers the reason was Governor Christie's refusal to set up a New Jersey exchange, in contrast to his Democratic counterpart in New York.

So, they politicized the blame by putting the words into the mouth of one of New Jersey's Democratic congressman, who was quoted on the continuation page:

"The absence of information was a frustration to U.S. Rep. Robert Andrews, a Haddon Heights Democrat, who blamed it on Governor Christie’s 'regrettable decision' to opt out of a state-run exchange."

Since then, stories on the problem-plagued roll-out of the Affordable Care Act in New Jersey have completely omitted Christie's attempt to sabotage federal reforms, such as the Washburn story on A-3 today.

Where is background?

In July, the GOP bully was running for a second term and it's understandable why The Record's adoring staff tried to sanitize the front-page story.

But now that he won the election and has set his sights on the White House, why don't The Record's editors and reporters level with readers?

What's missing on A-3 today is an essential ingredient in every newspaper story from time immemorial: background. 

Hyping the mess 

On Page 1 today, the inconvenience of closing Fort Lee access lanes to upper level tollbooths on the George Washington Bridge in September has been exaggerated into "a four-day ... traffic nightmare."

The truth is drivers using the lower-level on those days saw no delays, and a Fort Lee access lane to that level's tollbooths remained open.

Can't touch Borgs

The front-page story on incomes in Bergen and Passaic counties remaining well below the levels of 2000 doesn't include the Borg publishing family, whose great wealth has likely increased (A-1).

Another A-1 story on a $120,000 settlement for each of the three boys who filed suit after they were locked in a Fort Lee police van overnight doesn't mention that about $40,000 from each check will go to the plaintiffs' lawyers.

Police and court news

Three of the five stories on the Local front today make the page look like a police blotter (L-1).

On L-6, the obituary for Edward Oldziey, 90, of Wyckoff -- an architect who survived both terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center -- doesn't name the president who was the object of his anger in a letter published in The New York Times 13 days after 9/11.

Have a heart

The Record's Better Living section continues to use recipes from clueless food blogger Kate Morgan Jackson of Upper Saddle River.

Today, Jackson describes the surest way to turn heart-healthy sea scallops into an artery clogging, preservative-filled nightmare (BL-2).

Editors let racial skeletons out of closet

The integration of Englewood's Dwight Morrow High School continues.

Two stories in The Record today give readers a glimpse into Bergen County's racial past and raise unanswered questions about the paper's role in bringing about change.

On Page 1, the obituary of James Payne -- a black Englewood man who built a house in overwhelmingly white Teaneck in 1951 -- balances the story of racial integration with terrific crime reporting on his death, the arrest of a suspect and a possible motive.

On the Local front, the big photo of white politicians mourning former Englewood City Manager Jack Drakeford, who was African-American, speaks volumes about that city's sordid racial history (L-1).

It's a white world

Both stories raise questions about Englewood's inability to fully integrate its schools, its neighborhoods or its government, and the role the wealthy Borg publishing family played in maintaining the status quo.

Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg has lived on Englewood's East Hill for decades.

Still, public schools weren't good enough for his precious offspring, Publisher Stephen A. Borg and Vice President/ General Counsel Jennifer A. Borg.

The first paragraph of the Drakeford funeral story hails him as "a civil rights hero," but he never was allowed to hold the policy making office of mayor nor did he have much impact on the schools, which today are almost completely filled with blacks and Hispanics.

Lesbian athletes?

Are some of the female Olympic athletes lesbians?

Have the media, including The Record, ever discussed the issue or do they just run photos like the one on the front page of soccer player Carli Lloyd having her breasts squeezed by a teammate?

A-1 also carries the fifth story in seven days about the growing legal and financial problems of Assemblyman Robert Schroeder, R-Washington Township.

And the geniuses who run the Editorial Page finally get around to asking Schroeder to explain publicly how he plans to do his job in the Assembly while defending himself against criminal charges and at least 15 lawsuits (A-20). 

F.U. to commuters

As commuting in North Jersey becomes more nightmarish by the day, Road Warrior John Cichowski continues to search for the most obscure and irrelevant topics for his column (L-1).

Today's entire column discusses sun glare on Route 3. Let's see, there are 10 other highways with sun glare, so that means at least 10 more columns on the subject.

The news copy editor who wrote the caption on an L-2 photo leaves the impression the child injured while riding a bicycle was hit by a Ridgewood police car.

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza, couldn't find room for any Hackensack news today.

More clunky captions

In Better Living, the copy editor who wrote the captions for the food photos with today's restaurant review has "come"  and "butt" on his or her mind.

Instead of saying meats "are" expertly seasoned, the caption tells readers the meats "come" expertly seasoned.

On the salad photo next to that, the caption says the shepherd salad "comes" with greens and tomatoes.

The big photo of the restaurant clearly shows outdoor seating is literally on the Hudson River, but the caption describes a "patio abutting the river."

Elisa Ung's favorable review is of another boring Turkish restaurant, this one with high prices (BL 18-19). I saw the word "Turkish" and turned the page.

Low-quality review

Freelancer Jeff Page will put anything into his mouth for an Eating Out on $50 review (BL-20).

There's no discussion of the beef that goes into burger he ate, just his description of how it was "juicy" and full of "rich beefy flavor," presumably from animal antibiotics, growth hormones and other nasty additives.

Bon appetit.