Image by wheany via FlickrWhat's the big deal about advertising on school buses? After all, today's holy-than-thou editorial condemning the proposal is in The Record of Woodland Park, which is filled with advertising of all kinds, some of it exaggerated or deceptive.
The former Hackensack daily's food and business writers regularly turn out articles about chefs, restaurants and businesses that are so lavishly promotional you'd think the reporters were bribed. But you don't have to bribe some of The Record's reporters -- they write these veiled advertisements for free, with the support and encouragement of Editors Francis Scandale, Barbara Jaeger and others.
School-bus advertising could be a force for good, promoting Jersey Fresh produce in season, solar power, hybrid cars, mass transit, E-ZPass, low mortgage rates, food drives and so forth. It could urge voters to go to the polls, tell drivers about library programs and cultural events and .... Well, you get the idea.
But on A-10 today, Alfred P. Doblin, editor of the editorial page, is heaping shame on last week's state Assembly vote to allow advertising on school buses to help districts make ends meet. The Record says the proposal shouldn't become law.
Of course, Doblin himself is without shame -- writing or editing pieces that state the position of the newspaper on important public issues and then writing opinion columns that call into question his objectivity, such as his constant, lavish praise for Governor Christie. As far as I know, he is the first editorial page editor of The Record to write an opinion column.
The rest of today's paper is pretty boring.
The media-generated crisis over a shutdown of road construction lasted less than one day, even though the story led the paper Sunday and has been on the front page two days in a row.
The Local section is another abomination from head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes.
Tweets on food from Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung can no longer be accessed from Second Helpings, the blog on northjersey.com. She told us about her cold paella for breakfast, straight from the container, and swooned over cupcakes and brownies.
It was disgusting and amusing at the same time. All we have left are tweets from Food Editor Susan Sherrill.
