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| Jitneys such as this one heading to Manhattan relieve the pressure on NJ Transit, which doesn't provide enough rush-hour bus or rail seats for North Jersey commuters. |
By Victor E. Sasson
Editor
Mike Kelly pushes a lot of words around on The Record's front page today without coming close to answering some of the biggest questions about local police departments:
What exactly does the chief of a small department do, and why do we need nearly 70 of them in Bergen County alone (A-1)?
When The Record's Local section runs stories about a string of house burglaries, readers in such wealthy towns as Tenafly know what the chiefs don't do.
So, isn't it a good idea to empty the office of police brass and get them out on the street in Englewood Cliffs and other towns, where they can try to stop burglaries and enforce speeding laws?
But Kelly, aka "The Shit-Eating Grin," beats the subject to death, relying on one of the silliest comparisons I have ever seen:
"Think of this as the law enforcement equivalent of a restaurant with too many cooks and not enough waiters to serve the food."
No. Think of this as a columnist who long ago ran out of steam, and has been reduced to rewriting news stories.
Elderly and dead
Another front-page story today continues The Record's portrayal of the elderly as so demented they wander off for days -- or end up confined to a long-term care facility (A-1 and A-9).
The Record often ignores vibrant seniors who are living full lives until they die.
Still, I searched Local in vain today for an expanded obituary of a noteworthy North Jersey resident. In fact, I haven't seen one in several days.
Assuming Staff Writer Jay Levin is on vacation, why do the editors simply sit on their hands instead of assigning another reporter to write a local obit?
God knows, readers can't figure out why the Borgs are paying some reporters whose bylines are as rare as blue moons or why head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes keeps making excuses for them.
Help for obesity
The Better Living section today picks up more of Local's slack with a cover story on where families can get help for their obese children (BL-1).
Now, the paper should publish a story on where its obese editors can go for help.
The section also appears to have ended "STARTERS" -- a feature on new restaurants -- and substituted a streamlined column called "NOW OPEN" (BL-1)
Today's piece on Fiona's Restaurant in Midland Park is by Staff Writer Sachi Fujimori, whose straightforward reporting is far better than the hard sell of free-lancer Joyce Venezia Suss.
Chief Obituary Writer Jay Levin is on vacation in Missouri, if his facebook postings of beat up old rusted automotive hulks that he calls his "dream cars" are to be believed. And congratulations on reviving the nicknames, I'll bet ole Mike Kelly, that master of the mangled metaphor, would like to bonk you on the noggin with that chunk of twisted metal from Ground Zero he used to keep on his desk. And let's don't forget Deirdre Sykes' minions, I haven't seen them mentioned in a while, she does still have a bunch of minions, doesn't she?
ReplyDeleteMinions, buffoons and assorted ne'er do wells.
ReplyDeleteSo, no personal attacks on the blogger, but the blogger can make personal attacks on his subjects?
ReplyDeleteOh, so that's how blogs work!
What personal attacks? Saying a journalist is incompetent isn't a personal attack; it's a public attack.
ReplyDeleteNewspaper publishers, editors and reporters are spoiled because they've successfully kept the public in the dark about what they do, how they do it and how poorly they often do it.
Personal attacks on the blogger are okay, Victor even welcomes them as long as the attacker doesn't mind being called a moron in return. Rumor has it Victor even plans to position himself above a dunk tank to raise money for the repaving of his street. My goodness, is that John Cichowski standing first in line?
ReplyDelete