Our next president isn't pictured on the front page today

In Hackensack on Tuesday morning, a man walked his young son across the NJ Transit tracks on Railroad Avenue, a largely residential neighborhood that has lived with passing trains in its front yard for decades. In 2012, a 12-year-old boy walking home from school was killed by a train, but The Record didn't bother asking officials why fences were never put up to protect residents.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Governor Christie is taking his lies, distortions and mean-spirited policies on the road again in what The Record calls a presidential "campaign trip in all but name" (A-1).

But you can't tell from today's upbeat front-page coverage -- including four A-1 photos of the GOP bully in New Hampshire -- that Christie is damaged goods, a politician who is unlikely to get the nomination, let alone the victory.

And I'll bet there are unhappy workers in dead-end jobs in the Woodland Park newsroom and all around the country who would vote against Christie just to avoid having to wait until they are 64 to retire early.

Today's Page 1 story is written by Melissa Hayes, the reporter assigned to cover Christie, in her usual adoring style, as you can tell immediately from the first paragraph.

Christie's proposals for Social Security and federal health care are called "overhauls," not cuts (A-1).

"Today, one of the most unpopular governors in the country is unveiling what soon will become one of the most unpopular entitlement reform plans," U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, said, according to PolitickerNJ.com.

Bob Menendez

After Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted by a federal grand jury, The Record leapt to his defense, quoting one defense attorney after another claiming his actions on behalf of a Florida eye doctor were inspired by friendship, not bribery.

Today, Dr. Salomon Melgen, 61, the senator's friend, is back on Page 1 after he was indicted for allegedly trying to bilk Medicare of more than $190 million and receiving $105 million (A-1).

In 2012 alone, health officials reported, Melgen billed Medicare $21 million, more than any other doctor in the nation, The New York Times reported.

If anything, Menendez's really poor judgment in calling this man a friend and accepting free travel and Paris hotel rooms from him should be questioned.

More corrections

The news, assignment and copy desks are on a roll, admitting to two more editing screw-ups on A-2 today.

Readers know The Record only acknowledges a few of the many errors that appear in the paper every day now that six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton, supervisor of the copy desk, has eliminated all fact checking and limited editing to spell checking.

If you think the A-7 photo of Menendez is unflattering, check out the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center construction photo the news editors are running on A-9 today.

Local news?

Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza continue to rely heavily on Law & Order and court news to fill the thin local-news section, robbing readers of legitimate municipal news (L-1 to L-6).

Four of the six stories on the Local front today distract readers from how poorly many of our towns and school systems are run -- which are among the issues The Record's lazy editors have never been eager to tackle.

Spring surprise

What's the point of running recipes for shad roe with such unhealthy ingredients as butter and bacon that many readers are trying to avoid (BL-1 and BL-4)?

Columnist dismisses challenge to Tea Party puppet

Utility work on River Street in Hackensack, near the mothballed headquarters of North Jersey Media Group and The Record, made driving difficult last week.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Staff Writer Herb Jackson of The Record is a veteran who is assigned to Washington, where he writes the NJ/DC column, which you'll find on Page 1 today.

In recent years, Jackson has mastered the art of slipping a dagger into any Democrat who challenges one of Congress' most conservative members -- and twisting it.

Rep. Scott Garrett, a six-term Wantage Republican whose district now includes liberal Fair Lawn, Hackensack and most of Teaneck, is a puppet of the Tea Party and against just about everything, especially social programs.

Money talks

Today's column reports Garrett and his Democratic challenger, attorney Roy Cho of Hackensack, began running TV ads this month (A-1).

But Jackson is dazzled by Garrett's fund raising, nearly $3.2 million, compared to Cho's expected $900,000, and he's already called the race on that basis alone.

Jackson never mentions Garrett's initial opposition to federal aid for Sandy victims or his desire to delay eligibility for both Social Security and Medicare, starting with people born in 1958 and after.

Cut health care

Nor does he discuss Garrett's plan to dismantle the Affordable Care Act -- which has given health insurance to tens of millions who never had it -- and boost defense spending to $699 billion in 2022.

Jackson has so much pull in Washington he couldn't even get an interview with Garrett, who doesn't announce where he is campaigning and hasn't agreed to debate Cho.

What kind of reporter is Jackson when he doesn't even report Garrett's mean-spirited policies and positions, as listed on the congressman's own Web site?

See: I'm Scott Garrett, and I hate people

Crystal balls

Today's Jackson column is long-winded -- typical of The Record's white, middle-age columnists.

So, he saves the knockout punch for the last paragraph after reporting Cho's charge that Garrett is even against federal spending to repair the transportation network relied on by 1 million people in Bergen County alone.

"It's an argument Garrett's challengers have been making since 2002," fortune teller Jackson reports. "And so far, none has come close to succeeding."

The Nov. 4 election will decide representation in the boomerang-shaped 5th District.

Here is a post I wrote in 2012 on how The Record and Jackson treated Adam Gussen, then-Teaneck's deputy mayor, the previous Garrett challenger:

Nobody at The Record knows his name

Hackensack news

On the Local front today, Staff Writer Todd South reports Al Dib, Hackensack's legal analyst and historian, has unearthed information that "averts wrangling" over development of a 4.3-acre parking lot near Forschini Park, as the headline puts it (L-1).

South still hasn't done a follow-up to his story on a group of Democrats who propose to change the form of government and switch to partisan elections in an effort to regain the power they lost in 2013.

Veteran editor romances former U.S. judge

Governor Christie in 2008. Who was under the desk? (Wikipedia)

In his many years with The Record, Tim Nostrand was promoted to head of the local-news operation, then demoted and finally pushed aside and given the title of "projects editor."

Before I left the paper in 2008, I watched Staff Writer John Brennan go into Nostrand's nearby office to loudly promote his latest story, and the editor promising to sell the piece for the front page just to get rid of the fast-talking moron.

So, what did Nostrand do to end up writing a story for Page 1 today? Has he been busted down to reporter or public relations flunkie? 

Dusts off cliches

Nostrand resorts to just about every cliche in the book to shill for an autobiography by Herbert J. Stern, a former  federal prosecutor and judge.

Why is this on the front page of the Sunday edition?

This is a masterful job of selective reporting by Nostrand, who mentions Stern's role as monitor for the "scandal-plagued" University of Medicine and Denistry, but not the enormous legal fees the ex-judge landed.

Nostrand conveniently leaves out all the controversy, as this excerpt from Wikipedia shows:

Controversy over federal monitorship

In 2006, Stern was appointed by Chris Christie, who was then serving as the United States Attorney for New Jersey, to the $500-per-hour post of federal monitor, following Christie's approval of a deferred prosecution agreement with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which had admitted committing Medicare fraud. Stern's law firm, Stern and Kilcullen, received a reported $8 million in legal fees from the contract. Stern, some of his partners, and their wives have since each made the maximum contribution of $3,400 to Christie's gubernatorial campaign, resulting in a total contribution of $23,800 (and $47,600 in public matching funds). State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D) has called for Christie to return the money in order to avoid giving New Jersey taxpayers the impression of a pay-to-play relationship.^[5]

What a disgrace. Shame on Christie, Stern and Nostrand, and Editor Marty Gottlieb, who put this tripe on the front page.

Live and let liver

The compelling, well-written account of a liver transplant between cousins is illustrated with terrific photos by Tom Franklin and Carmine Galasso, yet it is weighed down by its length and unnecessary transplant statistics (A-1).  

You have to plow through all of that text to find out the operation began on July 31, but the A-1 photo caption states inexplicably the surgery occurred "earlier this year." 

Little local news

For yet another day, there is little municipal news and nothing from Hackensack in the Local section run so poorly by head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her deputy, Dan Sforza.

On the Business front, what's the point of the long story about a retail clothing chain started by the "richest man in Japan," if it tells readers nothing about the quality or value of the products in its stores (B-1).

Chief overeater

All of that overeating has tired out Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung, who today appeals to readers to tell her about the best-selling food in North Jersey restaurants, delis and markets (BL-1).

The results certainly will be interesting, but ultimately unreliable -- like all of the opinions on sites such as Yelp! 

Kelly needs help

On the Opinion front, conservative Columnist Mike Kelly appoints himself an expert on orators and presidential campaigns (O-1). 

I have some advice for the veteran columnist: Seek out experts on writing and reporting to teach you some new tricks. 

You are one of those chiefly responsible for how boring the paper has become.

GOP tries to screw well-off seniors

Image via Wikipedia
A Medicare card.

To avoid taxing millionaires and other wealthy supporters, House Republicans OK'd a payroll tax cut that would be paid for in part by higher Medicare premiums for seniors who earn more than $80,000 a year.

Of course, there's no mention of Medicare in the news story that runs in The Record today, and interim Editor Doug Clancy made sure you'd have to search for it (A-5).


More crime news


Clancy chose crime news for the fourth day in a row to lead the GOP-friendly daily, bringing readers the breathtaking news that an ex-cop accused of murder failed drug tests during probation (A-1). What a bad guy he must be.


The photo in the middle of the front page is from Parksville, N.Y. Is that near Park Ridge, Palisades Park or Park and Ride? 


It's hard to believe there were no North Jersey images worthy of Clancy's A-1.


Clancy seems more comfortable dramatizing police and fire news than an investigative piece on a Bergen County insider by Staff Writer Jeffs Pillets or former Gov. Jon Corzine's latest shucking and jiving about $1.2 billion in client funds. 


Temper tantrum


What about Governor Christie's style of leadership -- retaliating against state Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex (A-4). Why isn't that on Page 1?


"When Christie doesn't get his way, he stomps his feet and terminates people just to show he's boss," a Democratic leader noted.


Also on A-4, a photo caption by Editor Liz Houlton's news copy desk incorrectly calls an unusually large airplane designed to carry spaceships a "giant spaceship."


When is someone going to slap former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky as hard as possible across the face to bring him back to the reality of the molesting charges against him (A-9)?


He ducked out of a court hearing, where he would have faced accusers, saying he intends "to fight for four quarters."


You won't find any Hackensack municipal or school news in the Local section today, but you will find another column by Road Warrior John Cichowski on the parents of teen drivers (L-1).

Mac delivers bad news to retirees

Privately held North Jersey Media Group, publisher of The Record and Herald News, again is cutting expenses to avoid further layoffs, NJMG Chairman Malcolm A. Borg said in a letter to retirees I received Friday. The letter is signed with his nickname, "Mac." (I don't know whether that is from a love for  mac 'n cheese or whether it's short for MacDaddy or Mac the Knife. Or is that the standard abbreviation among wealthy whites for Malcolm?)

 
Effective Jan. 1, NJMG will no longer reimburse retirees monthly to help them pay for Medicare supplement insurance and will no longer contribute toward the cost of dependent's medical insurance. All medical plans will move to United Healthcare "in order to help contain costs." Mac gives no estimate of anticipated total savings.

Image via Wikipedia

"I can assure you that this decision is not indicative of the great appreciation that I have for your many years of service," Mac wrote. "Despite our difficulties, North Jersey Media Group is still able to go forward, largely because of the work of its talented and dedicated staff -- both present and past."

"I trust you will know that we had no other choice in this matter," he added.


Mac doesn't say NJMG is losing money. In fact, The Record has never lost money and if it had, we were never told it did. That hasn't stopped layoffs, restructuring and salary freezes, but the number of employees affected has never been been made public.


Mac cited dramatic declines industrywide in advertising revenue ("our life-blood") that have forced NJMG "to drastically reduce expenses in order to remain a viable company."