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| This sign, seen across the roof of a van, is a touch of civility at a Manhattan entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. Fortunately or unfortunately, congestion usually slows drivers to a crawl, giving them time to read the sign and yield to other drivers -- in marked contrast to what happens on New Jersey highways. |
By Victor E. Sasson
Editor
An extra-marital affair, an angry husband, pay-to-play and a prominent Republican who has grown fat on his New Jersey connections.
You'd think today's Page 1 expose in The Record has everything a reader could want. But you'd be wrong.
The avalanche of words and titillating e-mails never explain why any of this is relevant to my life or the lives of thousands of other readers.
'Me news'?
Will the split between Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan and public relations guru Alan C. Marcus slow or end the reforms Donovan is known for?
Are my property taxes going up? Will this brouhaha lessen or increase the crushing burden of the county's tax-exempt property on Hackensack residents?
As far as I know, county sherriff's officers will continue to help Hackensack police officers fight crime under an initiative started by Police Director Michael Mordaga.
I have a lot of respect for the reporters who worked on the expose, but this is the kind of story Editors Marty Gottlieb and Deirdre Sykes love to waste time and money chasing to bring a little excitement into their dull, newsroom-centered lives.
Stephen Borg speaks
Turn to A-7 for comment from Publisher Stephen A. Borg, who claims staffers "teach" at Bergen Community College.
Borg is referring to "In The Record," a class given by the college's Institute for Learning in Retirement for seniors citizens.
Road Warrior John Cichowski, Staff Writer Lindy Washburn and other staffers speak to the class about their jobs and their beats, and answer questions.
Calling it teaching, as Borg does, is a stretch.
The front-page has another political "thriller" from Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson, who again fails to explain why readers should care about anything he reports in his column (A-1).
Downplaying protests
The outrage over the verdict in the Trayvon Martin case is demoted to A-3 to make room for all the tripe about politics.
I have yet to see an explanation from any media why the corrupt state of Florida allows 6-member juries to hear criminal cases.
In most states, including New Jersey, 12 people hear criminal cases and 6-member juries are reserved for civil lawsuits.
Local yokels
Today's Local section has Sykes' stamp on it:
Two more filler accident photos without a word in the captions about what might have caused them (L-1 and L-3).
Was the SUV driver who ran off a curve of the Garden State Parkway speeding or texting?
Did the 77-year-old man killed in a one-car crash on Route 46 in Lodi have a heart attack or some other health-related problem?
Readers don't have a clue.
More road noise
The Road Warrior column makes more noise about gaps in noise walls, but as in a previous highly exaggerated column, never explains why anyone would buy a house next to a highway and why readers should care when they do (L-1).
In his column on Friday, Cichowski answered readers' questions with a mixture of "clueless, unsafe, and false information" that conflicts with state statutes, according to a concerned reader.
See the full e-mail to management on the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:
The obituary of athlete, accountant and actor Dick Wieczezak of Wallington is good reading, but I'd like to see more of these local deaths on Page 1 in place of endlessly boring politics (L-1).
Not much else
The Sunday paper has 4 more sections, but I couldn't find much in them.
Today's consumer column from Staff Writer Kevin DeMarrais is a silly comparison of flying and driving to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. (B-1).
I really was on the edge of my seat reading about Jackie Zeman, a soap actress I've never heard of, and her problems sleeping anywhere but in her sister's house in Upper Saddle River (BL-1).
I kept wondering if she is related to John Zeaman, a former Record staffer and author of "Dog Walks Man."
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