A Sunday paper full of more niche reporting

Answering the prayers of New Jersey commuters, Starbucks has opened a cafe on the ground level of the midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. Now, they won't fall asleep waiting on long lines to board NJ Transit buses.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The Record should cast a wider net and run stories of general interest or even report on the issues in the New Jersey gubernatorial race.

Instead, Editor Marty Gottlieb fills today's front page with stories of limited interest to most readers.

Parents of young athletes, political junkies and commuters who use jitneys are well-served, but the majority of readers have far more pressing issues to deal with.

For example, the success of what many call "the Spanish bus" is directly related to NJ Transit's inability to provide enough bus seats for commuters.

When is The Record going to cover that story?

Real legwork

It's good to see Staff Writer John Cichowski is actually leaving the office to do reporting for his Road Warrior column (A-1).

This cuts down on his frequent misquoting of driving rules and regulation; statistics and other data; inaccurate advice to readers who send in questions and general incompetence as he approaches the 10th anniversary of taking over the column from Jeff Page.

Of course, he also left the office recently to report on the NY Waterway Ferry, but still managed to make so many mistakes in describing the service, fares and other details.


Horses and football
 
The front of head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section is dominated today by two Meadowlands stories, not local news.

Sykes must think readers have been on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the Feb. 2, 2014, Super Toilet Bowl at MetLife Stadium (L-1).

Baby stroller news

Staff Writer Elisa Ung has returned from her second maternity leave with a fresh perspective on what she calls good service at "burger joints, diners or order-at-the-counter eateries" (The Corner Table, BL-1).

Although the majority of her readers are in their 50s or older and can no longer relate to dining with kids, at least her column today has a strong focus on customers -- not restaurant owners and chefs.

Prickly commentary

One prick writes about another.

That was my first thought when I saw that Staff Writer Mike Kelly is devoting his first column after a break to sex-addicted candidate Anthony Weiner -- a story that has been totally over-reported by the bored media (O-4).

But then it occurred to me that Kelly on Weiner is appropriate in another way: 

Both men need to find something else to do.

Meanwhile, why does The Record continue to use an outdated thumbnail photo of the columnist, complete with his shit-eating grin?

Travel New Jersey

Congrats to Travel Editor Jill Schensul, whose cover story on short trips today describes 3 great New Jersey towns (T-1).

Last week, readers searched in vain for information about New Jersey rest stops.