Image via WikipediaIt was no surprise to see the obituary of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner on Page 1 of The Record of Woodland Park today, coming a couple of days after the top of A-1 was devoted to the passing of the public address announcer. But what explains this incredible excess?
The jock-itching, high-fiving, ass-slapping, male-bonding editors have simply run amuck, giving more space to Steinbrenner than to any other dead person in my memory -- presidents, included -- and I joined The Record in 1979 as a reporter. But if you are not a Yankees fan -- and we are legion -- he's just another rich white guy lionized by the media. The rest of today's paper sucks.
Truth is, Steinbrenner and Malcolm A. Borg, former publisher and chairman of North Jersey Media Group, have a lot in common. Both were born into wealth and privilege, both got much richer during their careers and both passed their businesses to a couple of spoiled brats.
Still, compare what the Steinbrenner sibs have done with the Yankees and what Publisher Stephen A. Borg and big sister Jennifer A. Borg, NJMG vice president and general counsel, have done with The Record, especially Stephen's emphasis on personal gain and Jennifer's expensive defense of what many see as long-established age-discrimination policies.
It's well-known the elder Borg is a reformed alcoholic, and many observers agree he lost control of The Record when he started hiring a series of out-of-towners for newsroom and executive jobs, the latest being Editor Frank "Castrato" Scandale, who probably orchestrated today's shamefully excessive coverage, while continuing to neglect local news.
The Steinbrenner eulogy covers almost all of the front page, continues through two and half pages of the main news section under a special banner, an editorial and an editorial cartoon, then picks up in Sports, with more than four pages of added drivel. I could just manage to scan the stories and photos, but read few words. Isn't Bruce Springsteen the real "Boss"?
Steinbrenner's life and death mean nothing to me and tens of thousands of other readers, likely the majority. And what is important to me, as a resident of Hackensack, continues to be ignored by Scandale and head Assignment Editor Deirdre "Mother Hen" Sykes, who supervise a stubbornly unproductive news staff.
Look at today's Local section. Look at all the space devoted on the front to a cop who shoots a dog after he was bitten. Neither died. Page L-3 is all police or court news, except for a story on the postponement of a meeting in Englewood; it runs more than 10 inches. There's no Hackensack news today.
Local reporters like Giovanna Fabiano and Monsy Alvarado have become adept at writing long previews of meetings or hearings or court proceedings, then long stories when they are postponed. That is what passes for productivity under Scandale and Sykes.
But is Fabiano working on a profile of Michel Bittan, the Englewood businessman linked to one of those alleged Russian spies, to finally tell readers just how influential he is in that city? Is she planning to write about the segregated schools there?
And is Alvarado ever going to tell readers about the Hackensack budget and tax rate, or write about the new mayor? Karen Sasso's swearing in appeared in The Hackensack Chronicle on July 9, more than a week after it occurred.
Employee news
The name of Managing Editor Frank Burgos did not appear on today's editorial page for the first time, and presumably, he has returned to Pennsylvania. He won't be missed.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Last Monday's paper is nothing to speak of, nor was there any Hackensack news.
IMHO the space devoted to Steinbrenner was well-deserved. It paled in comparison to what the Daily News did, which is a collector's item. Steinbrenner was one of those larger than life figures who had a major impact on New York history, not just sports.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison to Mac Borg is spot on but ends with the fact that they both were scions of wealthy families. Steinbrenner had a heart of gold and did his best not to focus on his deeds of generosity. Mac is an unfulfilled old poor little rich boy whose passing will be little noticed outside of the Record and maybe a paragraph in Editor & Publisher and a few paragraphs in the New York Times.
Steinbrenner had a positive impact on many, many lives and brought joy to a city and New Jersey as well. Mac, well, I know a lot of people to whom he brought nothing but misery.
For many, many years, Mac Borg ran The Record as a family company, and was very generous with profit-sharing and bonuses. That was the newspaper I worked for when I first started there and that was the newspaper that rewarded my work, if not with a big salary, other compensation that was welcome by all of the employees. Inevitably, that all ended with the arrival of managers such as Jon Markey. But Mac's biggest mistake was putting the newspaper into his son's hands, without taking into account the younger Borg's greed, his need to prove he could buy a bigger house than his Dad and his total disdain for journalistic tradition.
ReplyDeletePlease do not address me as "Vickie baby." I find itm offensive, whoever you are.
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame how quickly people forget the real George Steinbrenner. Buy a few World Series rings and the NY area loves you. The guy was a crook, banned from baseballl for his dealings. Not to mention you can blame him for why a family of 4 has to spend in excess of $300 to see a game at Yankee Stadium. The greed of this man knew no limits and it is because of him that baseball is no longer the national pasttime. "Heart of gold" my ass, the guy would fire people to appease his own bloated ego.
ReplyDeleteYou should simply delete comments like that and not respond to them, as it kind of opens the floodgates for the anonymopotamusses who regularly comment here to knock you for some of the nicknames you assign to various editors. Now someone has discovered a way to get under your skin.
ReplyDeleteP.S. And don't be surprised if there's some Hackensack news on Page 1 tomorrow! Although the Cliffview Pilot already is whupping the Record web site's ass.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clear-headed assessment of George Steinbrenner.
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