Are Borg's circulation numbers all smoke and mirrors?

For drivers, the safest times at Euclid Avenue and the railroad tracks in Hackensack are when an NJ Transit commuter train is passing, above, and maniacs in cars can't run the four stop signs controlling the intersection, endangering pedestrians and other drivers.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Some "frenzy."

The day before The Record's editor reacted hysterically to Governor Christie's appearance on a magazine cover and TV shows -- Friday's A-1 headline called it a "frenzy" -- members of his own party ignored his choice for speaker of the state Senate.

But you won't find Christie making headlines on the front page of The Record today -- as he has for weeks.

The snub by Senate Republicans on Thursday is covered in a Page 1 blurb, with the full story on A-3.

Truth or dare?

Still, that's not the most eye-opening story in the Woodland Park daily today.

For that, you'll have to turn to A-12, where a headline declares: 

Record's Sunday circulation up 5.6% 

This story is far less than it seems -- because it fails to mention the circulation figures cited are for both The Record and Herald News, which was made an "edition" of the flagship daily years ago to inflate the number of readers.

Publisher Stephen A. Borg is quoted as saying the boost in Sunday circulation is credited to "a solid news product."

Talks to advertisers

Of course, the story is aimed directly at retailers, auto dealers and other advertisers who pay ad rates based on readership -- the higher the circulation, the higher the rates.

Borg has been putting on this dog-and-pony show at North  Jersey Media Group since he took over from his father, Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg, but can his figures be trusted?

"The Record's Sunday circulation, which includes its branded editions and digital replica edition, increased by 9,342 copies, or 5.6 percent, to 176,985," according to the story.

The numbers for The Record and Herald News aren't given separately, and "branded editions and digital replica edition" go unexplained.

Even if The Record's Sunday circulation is about 150,000, that is far below the high of about 225,000.

"Our increase shows that print circulation remains vibrant when you have a good newspaper," Borg says.

What about daily circulation? Are we to assume it's down?

Homeless population

Hackensack's homeless problem was generally ignored until James Brady turned in to police $850 that he found on Main Street, and then was given the money when no one claimed it.

Now, Brady, who is no longer homeless, has been denied General Assistance and Medicaid benefits by the city's Human Services Department, "because he failed to report new income he received," Staff Writer Hannan Adely reports today on Page 1.

Why is an online auction of Penthouse magazine founder Bob Guccione's collection of erotica on the front page today?

The avalanche of corrections continues on A-2 today. Keep in mind that for every error that is acknowledged, five to 10 more are ignored.

Pork barrel

Better Living and Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung continue to promote new restaurants, this time the opening of New Jersey's first Shake Shack in Paramus.

Isn't this unabashed promotion a conflict for Ung, whose main job is to critically evaluate food and service at restaurants?

At least Shake Shack serves hamburgers and hot dogs free of harmful antibiotics and growth hormones, according to her story (BL-1).

But in her weekly reviews, Ung rarely tells readers whether that dry aged steak, pork chop or other meat she is swooning over was naturally raised.