Lazy editors let Bush blast Christie for lousy job in N.J.

A sign at Whole Foods Market in Paramus thanks Hackensack Middle School students for "making beautiful artwork in our cafe." That contrasts with The Record of Woodland Park's boycott of school and school-board news from Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Is it really front-page news that Governor Christie has not done "big things" or that "New Jersey hasn't done well," in the words of the inarticulate Jeb Bush?

Yes. Readers of The Record haven't seen a similar assessment from the editors of their hometown paper in the many months Christie has been chasing his White House dreams (A-1).

In fact, Staff Writer Dustin Racioppi, one of those covering the Christie campaign, still hasn't asked the GOP bully the question on the mind of every New Jerseyan:

"Are you saying you want to run the nation the way you run New Jersey?"

Everyone but Editor Martin Gottlieb and Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin knows Christie is running the Garden State into the ground.

Bigger fish

Still, Gottlieb has bigger things on his mind today --the health of Target and other retailers who are among the paper's best advertisers.

That's why a story on insomniacs shopping at 2 and 3 in the morning leads Page 1 today.

Gottlieb wastes more space on "Real Housewives" bimba Teresa Giudice, who was released from a "prison camp," a non-story despite the best efforts of Staff Writer Virginia Rohan (A-1).

Local news?

There is so little local news in the paper today head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes devoted most of the L-1 front to a pissing match between Woodcliff Lake and Washington Township officials over a turn lane (L-1).

Law & Order news dominates Local, as it has on so many days in the past, and desperate layout editors had to run two wire-service obituaries and a gee-whiz photo of an overturned vehicle on L-8.

Lurid A-1: GOP screwing middle class, priests doing boys

Gloria Crest, set on 5 acres, is one of the most impressive homes on Englewood's East Hill. A historical society plaque, below, says the Italianate Revival villa was built in 1926 for Stefan Poniatowski, a Polish count. 

Actress Gloria Swanson is supposed to have lived in the mansion, which was said to have been a gift from Joseph Kennedy, grandfather of John F. Kennedy, during a very public affair.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I voted for "Barack" twice and can't wait to vote for "Hillary," but you can bet I would never be caught dead voting for "Jeb," who is trying to hide his infamous last name (The Record's front page today).

No one who remembers the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and how George W. Bush brought the nation to the brink of a second Great Depression, would ever vote for his younger brother.

CNBC ranked Florida, where Jeb was governor from 1999 to 2007, as 30th among America's top states for business in 2013.

Jeb is said to have a similar platform to Governor Christie's, so let's count both of them out now (A-1).

In that CNBC business ranking, New Jersey was ranked 42nd among the 50 states.

What voters want

In a letter to the editor today, Paul Erickson of Little Falls faults Hillary Clinton for not offering "bold new ideas" (A-8).

But the voters who put Barack Obama into the White House for two terms don't want "new ideas." 

They want the same old expansion of voting rights; preservation of the middle class, Social Security and Medicare; immigration reform, equal wages for women, much more mass transit and other progressive programs.

And since everyone who voted for Barack will be voting for Hillary, her victory over conservatives like Christie, Bush and all of the other GOP candidates and wannabes is assured. 

GOP and priests

Next to Jeb's announcement on Page 1 -- tantamount a declaration of war against the middle class -- Editor Martin Gottlieb plays a story about the "scandal-plagued Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis," with its lurid images of another group of religious zealots -- Catholic qpriests -- abusing boys (A-1).

Below the fold on A-1, a story on how schools in New Jersey are faring as they face "their seventh year without an increase in state aid" doesn't mention Christie until deep on the continuation page (A-6).

Then, the GOP bully is quoted as saying New Jersey does not have more money for schools "because of the state's financial crisis."

No mention is made of the hundreds of millions in tax breaks for wealthy business that don't create jobs or his repeated veto of a tax surcharge on millionaires or his voodoo budget balancing.

Corrections

Six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton, supervisor of the news and copy desks, continues to struggle with ensuring accurate identification of news subjects (A-2).

On Sunday's BL-5, Nurse Cedar Wang was identified as a doctor. 

The joke is on Wang, who I am sure is earning nothing near what an M.D. is pulling down or, for that matter, what the incompetent production editor is being paid.

On Saturday's L-6, Public Health Specialist Kimberly Birdsall was identified as a nurse.

Local news?

There is so little municipal news today two legislative stories appear on the front of Local (L-1).

Much of the section is filled with Law & Order stories, including a brief on the death of Nikolas Samouhos, 40, of Ridgefield Park in a collision in California.

Was Samouhos single, married, a father, son or grandson? Was he wearing his seat belt?

The reporter apparently ran out of room to say.

In L-3 today, it's refreshing to see an enterprise photo taken in a park on the Hudson River instead of the usual non-fatal accident, fender bender or collision.

Here's breathtaking 'local' news you might have missed

News Corp. headquarters on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, newspapers like the New York Post and other media properties here and around the world deliver slanted news every day, not just for the holidays.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The front pages of The Record in the past few days seem to shout: "No news today."

Editor Marty Gottlieb leads today's paper with a political column that poses an unasked question, Which GOP moron do you prefer in the presidential election in 2016?

"Bush" is a four-letter word that only reminds New Jerseyans of the 9/11 attack, the worst recession in memory, and two ruinous wars that killed thousands of Americans, wasted billions of dollars and lined the pockets of the military-industrial complex. (A-1).

Car news?  

How many owners of Mercedes-Benzes know or care where the German automaker's U.S. headquarters are located (A-1)?

Why is this story on Page 1 -- unless it's just another piece of the paper's strategy to cover the biggest advertisers to the exclusion of comprehensive local news?

At the bottom of today's front page, United Airlines and the Port Authority continue their pissing match over what makes flying out of Newark International Airport so expensive (A-1).

Nowhere have I seen any explanation of why my United flight to Jamaica in August didn't even have free music channels.

Brick latkes

If you've been complaining that your mother-in-law's latkes taste like bricks, she might have used a recipe the Better Living section published on Tuesday (BL-1 photo and BL-2 recipe).

An A-2 correction today notes "six eggs" were omitted from the ingredients list by Nina Rizzo, presumably a freelancer. LOL.

That's just another example of careful editing by Food Editor Esther Davidowitz, who betrayed her Jewish heritage by missing this error in a recipe for potato pancakes.

Puff pieces

Also today and every Wednesday, Davidowitz runs press releases from North Jersey restaurants that advertise heavily in the Woodland Park daily (BL-2).

The feature is called "FYI: What's new, what's happening and what's trending in the North Jersey dining scene."

What's trending is that Elisa Ung is rewriting promotional press releases from many of the same restaurants she should be evaluating critically as the paper's chief restaurant reviewer.

Davidowitz's contribution to the Better Living section, Coffee with the Chef, doesn't say which Hackensack Thai restaurant Koson Sillpsitte once worked at (BL-2).

What is the point of this feature, except to further glorify chefs and restaurants? 

In one recent column, a chef recommended salting pasta water "like the ocean," advice that was of little use to anyone, especially people trying to avoid excessive sodium.

Breaking local news

The Local news section today leads with the rescue of a dog from a Fort Lee house fire (L-1).

An accident photo on L-3 shows first responders standing around with their hands in their pockets, and the caption tells you little about the cause or whether a summons was issued.

Tuesday's Local front was dominated by a photo showing the wreckage of a FedEx tractor-trailer on Route 287 in Mahwah, but the story didn't say whether any packages destined for North Jersey residents were damaged or destroyed.

Below that, Staff Photographer Tariq Zehawi came up with yet another filler photo of a non-fatal collision of two vehicles in Emerson (Tuesday's L-1).

Wow! Look at how the hood and bumper of that new SUV came off in the crash! Wow! Look at that fireman with his hands in his pockets!

Another great job by head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes, Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza and their minions.

Elderly drivers

Road Warrior John Cichowski has spent so much time campaigning against life-saving red-light cameras, he has completely ignored the challenges faced by older drivers.

Did he or his lazy, clueless assignment editors see the story on L-2 of Sunday's Local section, reporting that two elderly pedestrians were struck by cars driven by older drivers in separate Fair Lawn incidents on Saturday?

An 82-year-old woman was "severely injured" by a driver "in his 80s" behind the wheel of an enormous Mercury Grand Marquis.

"Ten hours later and a mile away," a 64-year-old man was hit by a car driven by a 71-year-old male.

All four were residents of Fair Lawn, but I haven't seen a follow up on whether the drivers were issued summonses.

Noe does Cichowski seem to care whether retraining or other help is available for older drivers.