Image by wallyg via FlickrCan readers rely on transportation reporter Tom Davis? In two takeouts on the future of light rail in Bergen County (photo), he sounded more like a lawyer trying to make a case against mass transit than a journalist objectively presenting pluses and minuses. He often omits information or fails to back up assertions.
For example, on the front page of The Record of Woodland Park today, he reports that off-peak, round-trip train riders have been hit by hikes of "up to 45%," but manages to find patrons who are paying only 50 cents more than the old $1.75 fare (an increase of about 30%) and $2.50 more on the old $10.50 ticket (about 20% higher).
Deep down in the story, on the continuation page, he discloses that monthly passes cost 35% less than daily tickets. He buries that information because it dilutes the impact of his biased story. And he never mentions the hikes are the direct result of Governor Christie's assault on mass transit users -- cutting state aid to NJ Transit and refusing to raise the low gasoline tax, which finances road repairs, and train and bus improvements.
Finally, he reports "restaurant workers and students say they're turning to cars and buses," but provides absolutely no support for that assertion regarding cars. Does he actually expect readers to believe the off-peak fares are higher for a commuter than auto insurance, gasoline, tolls and parking?
Of course, some of the blame resides with head Assignment Editor Deirdre "Mother Hen" Sykes and Davis' assignment editor. Let's hope he's working with someone other than clueless Dan Sforza, who wrote about fanciful, not-in-our-lifetime "highways of the future" when he was transportation reporter, but ignored brake defects in NJ Transit cruiser buses used by Manhattan-bound commuters.
Sforza couldn't even edit Davis' stories intelligently. A mediocre reporter makes for an even weaker assignment editor, and Sykes has some doozies working for her.
A day after the paper's consumer columnist, Kevin Demarrais, reported that the BP boycott has had limited impact, a promo headline on A-1 today declares: "Boycott hurting BP gas stations."
You can scour Local for news about Hackesnack, Teaneck, Englewood and many other towns without success. A photo showing the car of a 79-year-old driver inside the Whole Foods Market in Ridgewood is one of perhaps a hundred such incidents in the past decade -- some of them fatal -- each chronicled with a few paragraphs.
But does this single accident deserve to be all over the front of the local news section? The poor guy wasn't even injured. Guess there wasn't anything better. There are only eight bylines in the entire section.
You'd think some genius on the news staff would long ago have proposed a series of stories on problems facing older drivers, and the help available to them, but the former Hackensack daily appears to be an equal opportunity discriminator against older workers and older readers.
Makes me glad I was an excellent reporter.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I wasn't was a doozy.
And in case you hadn't noticed (I did this yesterday and had it, and a sidebar, filed fairly quickly):
North Jersey crash into Whole Foods raises elderly-driver question: CLIFFVIEWPILOT.COM
Sunday, 27 June 2010 By Jerry DeMarco
As word spread of a car crashing through the entrance of a Whole Foods in tony Ridgewood early Sunday, the natural question arose: How old was the driver? Answer: 79. Which once again raises an “age”-old question. That is: In one of the most densely populated areas of the entire country, how old is too old to drive?
As sheer luck would have it, the morning’s crash didn’t cause any serious injuries.
But in an all-too-familiar scenario, the 79-year-old driver from the spit-sized town of Glen Rock hit the gas instead of the brake as he pulled into a parking space around 9:30 a.m.
He was fine, but authorities said an elderly customer had to be taken to the hospital with cuts on her feet -- presumably from all the shattered glass.
Earlier this year, 86-year-old Elsa Jenisch of Oakland -- another of North Jersey’s pricier communities -- was killed when her parked 1999 Dodge Caravan began rolling backward in her driveway and she tried to reach in and stop it instead of getting out of the way.
It's an emotional issue, this idea of individual freedom versus the risk to society. But even as we live longer and remain active, the facts don’t lie.
Age affects critical measures, including speed and distance -- and, sometimes, judgment.
More importantly, reaction time lengthens.
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If you’re concerned about an elderly loved one -- after hearing of another crash in North Jersey involving a senior citizen who hit the gas instead of the brake -- see: TIPSHEET: How to tell whether mom or dad can still drive
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Add in any medications someone may be taking and you’ve increased the negative odds even more.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says:
*The death rate per mile traveled for drivers over 85 is four times that of the 30-59 age group.
*They are also more likely to die in accidents. Their bodies are older, frailer.
*The only group more dangerous than senior citizens -- statistically speaking -- is teenagers.
That these incidents appear to be happening more in North Jersey’s more affluent towns raises a host of its own questions. Given the layouts, the only way to get many places are by car. And if an elderly resident has been doing it all of his or her life, and doesn’t have someone to help, their choices would seem limited.
AAA has a quiz for drivers over 55. Go to aaafoundation.org/quizzes, or call 407.444.7913. Also check out: seniordrivers.org.
Thanks, Jerry, for showing how it's done. There's more useful information in your one piece than has appeared in The Record on this issue in the past decade.
ReplyDeleteHey Frank, Deirdre, Dan, Rich and all of the other overpaid but lazy editors at The Record, are you paying attention?
ReplyDeleteThey're all paying attention to this blog.
ReplyDeleteWhat about CLIFFVIEW PILOT? Think they're paying attention to the site? If they were, wouldn't they have picked up the CVP exclusive that Gordon Johnson is sponsoring a bill that would eliminate the PIP police brass and put the patrol division under the auspices of NJ State Police? Or do they deliberately ignore the scoops unless they're able to independently confirm? Is acknowledging that other media exist -- where genuine news of importance can be found -- a negative that must be avoided at all costs? If only a few people were willing to jump aboard, we could cover the area like the proverbial blanket -- and give the people what they really want.... One thing's for sure: I'm getting there, either sooner or later. And thank you for the shout out, Mr. Sasson. I still think you're too tough on the grunts, who are merely following orders, and not hard enough on the policy makers, who choose to rearrange the deck chairs while de ship be sinkin'. But, at the same time, you're giving me great leads to follow up on as I move into these communities. Already got North Bergen locked down; no important news comes out of there without going through CVP. Imagine ALL of Bergen operating the same....
ReplyDelete