Image via WikipediaWhy devote the top of Page 1 in The Record of Woodland Park today, an entire inside page, and a rambling, question-filled, who cares Mike Kelly column on the Opinion front to the week-old arrests of two would-be terrorists from North Jersey? One of the stories was written by two Star-Ledger staffers. What did Record staffers write and why isn't it in the paper?
I'll bet many more readers are interested in seeing front-page coverage of the BP oil catastrophe in the Gulf, even though it isn't a local local story. (And in knowing what is going through Kelly's head when he turns out such drivel. Memo to Mike: Readers want your opinions based on solid reporting, not a bunch of rhetorical questions.)
The bigger story on the front page is the future of New Jersey Network, the Jersey-oriented TV station the state sorely needs in the absence of any real coverage by New York and Philadelphia stations. Governor Christie is so intent on preserving the wealth of the Borgs and his other rich friends -- and not raising the low gasoline tax to help mass transit -- he's cutting aid to NJN, too.
The Local section is a joke, especially for a Sunday paper. The big L-1 photo shows readers all the newspaper is good for -- building a miniature swing.
There's no Hackensack, Teaneck or Englewood news, but head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes felt it was essential to cover some Harrington Park kids doing good in Newark (L-3). Did you know Mother Hen Deirdre lives in tiny Harrington Park? Great news judgment.
The obituary on Mark Howat, longtime Record writer and editor (L-6), delicately avoids anything negative about the man, even though his activities were well-known in the Hackensack newsroom.
In Opinion, a letter to the editor today questions the motives of The Record in endorsing the expansion of The Valley Hospital, and asks how much advertising revenue North Jersey Media Group publications receive from the Ridgewood hospital and its affiliates. Hey, Publisher Stephen A. Borg, it's your turn to be candid in this situation. What will you do? Can you tear yourself away from counting your money?
In Business today, Columnist Kevin DeMarrais writes about the proliferation of online complaint sites, without mentioning their rise coincides with the decline of consumer-oriented reporting in Business, Travel and other sections of The Record and other newspapers.
In Better Living, another profile of a local who hit the big time helps distract readers from the lack of local food news today.
Bitterness is not a flattering trait.
ReplyDeleteBut it makes good copy in a tell-all blog.
ReplyDeleteIt's not exactly tell-all, is it? I mean, you impugn the reputation of Mr. Howat without elaborating, which means you leave it to the reader's imagination what heinous crimes he committed. Methinks, you don't get to have it both ways ...
ReplyDeleteOf course, a simpler path to take might have been to NOT say anything negative about the deceased in the first place. And a more honorable path, I would think.
I don't agree with the policy some newspapers follow to avoid anything negative about the deceased, and I certainly don' think I was being dishonorable. The Record doesn't normally follow that policy. I don't think what I wrote about Mr. Howat even remotely suggests "heinous crimes."
ReplyDeleteIt was a low blow, Victor, and not necessary. You aren't always right.
ReplyDeleteYou've crossed the line, cheap-shotting the deceased. It's time to pull the plug on this blog, Victor.
ReplyDeleteGive me a break.
ReplyDeleteI received another obscene comment, which I rejected. There is a lot of anger out there. I have the solution for you: Start your own blog, moron.
ReplyDelete