Dull and uninteresting -- even on Page 1

A group of clouds -- real and reflected -- almost makes you think The Modern, a 47-story residential tower in Fort Lee, is transparent. The building is the first of two.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

When the editor of a general interest newspaper gets desperate, he runs front-page headlines like the one leading The Record today:

All eyes on N.J.'s online wager

Of course, Governor Christie and state treasury officials are the only ones who care whether this gamble succeeds in boosting tax revenues after making such a mess of state finances (A-1).

And the other eyes on online casino gambling are the bloodshot ones of gambling addicts and assorted perverts.

Toll weary

State lawmakers are so frustrated over Christie packing the Port Authority with his cronies and rubber stamping big toll hikes they continue to blast the agency over the closure of a few toll lanes way back in September (A-1).

The lead paragraph of today's story claims eastbound drivers "were stuck in nightmarish gridlock" at the George Washington Bridge -- when, in fact, only two of three lanes leading from Fort Lee to the upper level toll plaza were closed, and the vast majority of drivers were unaffected.

This is the kind of coverage you get from Editor Marty Gottlieb, who ignores the daily commuting nightmare experienced by all drivers and mass-transit users.

The story identifies the official responsible for closing the lanes as David Wildstein, a former political consultant who got his job at the Port Authority from Christie (A-1 and A-7).

He is also identified as "Christie's No. 2 at the agency," but he isn't quoted and his name appears only one time in the long story.

Reunion in Sin City

On the front of Local today, what are the majority of readers to make of the big splash given to former Beatle Ringo Starr's long-delayed meeting with five Fair Lawn residents in Las Vegas (L-1).

OK. The drummer photographed the fans in 1964 from a passing car. Who the F cares whether they ever met?

Hackensack news?

I didn't see coverage of Monday night's Hackensack City Council meeting or a story about a part-time job going to another insider.

William Russiello has been hired as a "property management inspector" at $15 an hour, according to the Hackensack Scoop blog, which questions why an attorney would take such a "menial" job.

A link to Hackensack Scoop appears on the homepage of Eye on The Record.

Despite the ascendancy of the Citizens for Change slate on July 1, residents are still waiting for the City Council to run Hackensack more efficiently, reduce spending and slow the increase of property taxes. 

Monday's paper

If you think today's front page is dull and uninteresting for local readers, Monday's was equally uninspiring, especially with a Page 1 column from the paper's only female sports reporter, Vagina Monologue Tara Sullivan.

News about seniors was front and center on Monday, but it was another account of a 77-year-old who "falls between the cracks of different government programs" (A-1).

Staff Writer Colleen Diskin specializes in these hard-luck stories, but she apparently doesn't think her seniors beat includes the vast majority of older readers, who are well-off and balancing their active lifestyle with the realities of aging.

Second look

Sunday's Road Warrior column was full of his usual errors, including his claim Pulaski Skyway repairs are being paid for with toll money, when, in fact, the money is part of the funding for the Hudson River rail tunnels Christie cancelled.

A concerned reader also notes Staff Writer John Cichowski never tells readers what they want to know most -- when road and bridge construction projects are scheduled to be completed.

See the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

Transportation 'expert' drives tow truck