Little more than a tabloid

Image via Wikipedia

The Record of Woodland Park gives off a tabloid vibe today. It's filled with crime, court or traffic accident news, including the lead story on the front page. Half  of Page 1 is filled with a sports stadium story -- again. But if you are looking for municipal, development or quality of life news from Hackensack, Englewood or many other towns in North Jersey, you'll be disappointed -- for yet another day.

In the Local section, there are no fewer than 10 court, crime or  accident stories. Eleven, if you count John Cichowski's Road Warrior column, which gives royal treatment to the traffic-violation woes of one driver. Doesn't he have anything better to write about?

Teaneck reporter Joe Ax attended the first public hearing on a Queen Anne Road home where Jewish services have been held for about two years. Neighbors are fighting the synagogue, which didn't apply for variances. Shouldn't the township be faulted for allowing worship there?

This reminds me of the wealthy neighbors who opposed a synagogue on Walnut Street in Englewood, including Malcolm A. Borg, the powerful chairman of North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Record. Borg and his East Hill neighbors fought the congregation's expansion, and Borg even used Bruce Rosen, a lawyer who does a lot of work for NJMG, to represent opponents. The initial stories acknowledged Borg's role, but later reports by then-Staff Writer Maya Kremen omitted any mention of Borg or of Rosen's affiliation.

In Better Living, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung reports on a mediocre Indian restaurant in Fort Lee, yet describes it as "one of the great institutions of the North Jersey dining scene," presumably because it has been open 30 years. She might have been better off reviewing one of  the Indian restaurants on Main Street in Hackensack or strolling along Main Street and stuffing her face at five or six places in one evening for a report she once called "Progressive Dining."