Editors peddle more 'canned' news on Page 1

You'll get a lot more out of breakfast than you will from The Record's Sunday edition.

The Record's editors -- and the columnist and reporters who do their bidding -- have turned covering the easy stories into a fine art.

Look at Page 1 of the Sunday edition for a quick lesson in how to cover a court hearing (9/11) or rewrite a prosecutor's news release (Teaneck love-triangle murder) or simply ignore the concerns of North Jersey readers (French citizens voting from afar).

If readers haven't noticed how Editor Marty Gottlieb -- who worked for many years at The New York Times -- has imposed his world view on The Record, this last story on the election in France should hammer home the point.

Like, who in North Jersey really gives a shit who wins the French presidential race?

New York state of mind

Under Gottlieb, the view from New Jersey too often is of New York.

Recall recent A-1 stories: 

A "survival guide" for long-suffering Nets fan on how to travel to Brooklyn to see the losers, and what the new World Trade Center looks like from Garret Mountain and other North Jersey vantage points. complete with small photos that had readers scrambling for their magnifying glasses.

What North Jersey needs is a "survival guide" for people who commute to New York, including discounts to ease the sting of a $12 Hudson River toll, and a photo essay on architectural gems close to home.

Correcting screw-ups

Today's front-page story on the arrest of a suspect in the murder of Robert Cantor of Teaneck looks like a follow-up intended to correct a number of inaccuracies the original A-1 story on Saturday.

On the Local front, readers learn from a moving obituary that Gerda Beversluis, who was born in Prospect Park, had 120 nieces and nephews (L-1).

Readers abandon ship

That had me wondering whether Road Warrior John Cichowski -- who wrote another silly column for the same page today -- even has 120 readers, as he continues to ignore the commuting problems he is supposed to cover (L-1).

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and her lazy, incompetent minions couldn't come up with any Hackensack news today -- not even a fender bender or damaged utility pole.


More crap to eat


Instead of helping North Jersey readers find a burger made from naturally raised beef, Staff Writer Elisa Ung uses her Sunday column on the Better Living front to promote unhealthy burgers, in what amounts to a lot of free advertising (BL-1).

Loving Realtors

What do you do if you're a Realtor stuck with selling a $5 million tennis-court building in Englewood?

You call up the editors of the Sunday Real Estate section and ask them to write a cover story and include a photo of you (R-9) -- landing a million dollars worth of free promotion for your greedy endeavor. 

Governor Christie's whirlybird diet

Image via Wikipedia

Headquarters of the National Association of Realtors.

A few months ago, I read that Governor Christie went on a diet, but two photos of him on the front page of The Record today show a man who is asking everyone but himself to make sacrifices in these difficult economic times.

Editor Francis Scandale should have assigned a more aggressive reporter than Staff Writer Matthew McGrath to the story.

McGrath quotes Christie as saying he took a state police helicopter to Montvale to fit his son's baseball game in between two Trenton meetings, but the reporter never asks  the governor why he didn't use a car.

Penny wise, pound foolish

In the photos, Christie doesn't look like he has lost any weight. In fact, I guess he has difficulty walking because he had to be driven a short distance to his waiting helicopter.

Since he took office in January 2010, he has asked state residents to be disciplined and rely less on state aid for education, health care, legal aid, property tax rebates and many other programs.

But Christie himself is far from disciplined. Why did the electorate trust a man who doesn't know enough to eat wisely and moderately -- or even wear a hat in the hot sun -- to fix the state's financial problems?  

This whirlybird diet isn't working for Christie, so it's no surprise taxpayers end up eating crow.

By the way, the main A-1 caption violates Record style by referring to Governor Christie as just "Christie" on first reference. 

We feel your pain

The lead story today -- on falling home prices -- just shows how greedy many Realtors and homeowners were as they drove prices to stratospheric levels before flaming out. 

The Record's rah-rah Real Estate section, created by Publisher Stephen A. Borg, celebrated the excess. But even record prices didn't stop Borg from borrowing $3.65 million from the company for a new, bigger house.

A second A-1 story also is about Christie, whose state Supreme Court nominee was approved by a Senate panel. He's won another battle in his war to remove the high court's two minority justices.

Embarrassing typo

A refer in the lower-left corner of Page 1 misspells the food editor's last name. And, no, "macarons" isn't a typo, though the paper doesn't bother clearing up the confusion with macaroons.

Macaron is the French spelling of macaroon.

In Local, readers looking for Hackensack news will find a police brief on L-7. Readers in many other towns won't find any news.