Does big cutback in food coverage serve advertisers?

The old headquarters of North Jersey Media Group and The Record in Hackensack is now used primarily as a parking lot for attorneys, jurors and visitors to the Bergen County Courthouse a few blocks away ($5 per car). Many courthouse visitors are finding free parking elsewhere.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor

Under Publisher Stephen A. Borg, food coverage in The Record has declined drastically -- only to be replaced by highly promotional stories about the restaurants and chefs that advertise heavily in The Record of Woodland Park.

Eating Out on $50, the so-called budget restaurant review written by freelancer Jeff Page, appears to be the latest casualty, ending its monthly run in Better Living without an announcement.

Less space

The fine-dining restaurant review, written by full-time Staff Writer Elisa Ung, continues to cram photos and text into half the space it once commanded in the Better Living tabloid on Fridays, and Ung is restricted to taking one guest, instead of three, to the two dinners she buys.

Even if she were inclined to, Ung has little room to discuss whether restaurants are serving wild-caught fish and naturally raised or grown food.

Organic, shmorganic

Similarly, The Record's monthly Market Basket survey of supermarket prices continues to ignore the revolution in organic food that began with the opening of Whole Foods Market more than 30 years ago.

Doesn't this serve the majority of supermarket and restaurant advertisers who fatten their bottom lines by selling or serving cheaper conventionally grown food or farmed fish filled with harmful antibiotics and preservatives?

Wasted space

Ung continues to waste space in the data box that appears with every review, listing what the restaurant is "good" or "appropriate for," instead of whether it serves naturally raised or grown food.

And on Friday, she wasted two of the 11 paragraphs in her review of Solaia in Englewood on the lousy desserts, even though the vast majority of her readers don't touch the artery clogging, cloyingly sweet stuff out of concern for their waistline and their health (BL-18). 

Ung said Solaia "would be good for relaxing dining in downtown Englewood," but "less appropriate for big, loud groups."

She must think her readers are morons who can't figure that out on their own, and wouldn't the restaurant owner encourage diners to order wine and spirits from his full bar, rather than try to keep them quiet?

Raw or cooked?

Inexplicably, Ung used "sushi-quality fish" -- a term applied to fish served raw -- to describe a pricey grilled sea bass served at Solaia for $29.

As one of his first acts as publisher, Borg signaled an end to serious food coverage when he killed The Record's weekly Food section, promising daily stories about food that the editors were unable to deliver.

It's been all downhill from there.

Today's paper 

The Record doesn't bother with a full story about the third phase of Port Authority toll hikes that kick in on Sunday -- just four paragraphs on Page 1.

Nor does it report a statement from state Assembly Deputy Speaker John S. Wisniewski.

He called the bitstate agency "dysfunctional" and one that operates with "minimal accountability" -- an indirect slam at Governor Christie, who rubber stamped the toll hikes on the George Washington Bridge and other crossings.

Wisniewski said higher tolls come at a time "of stagnant wages and negligible inflation."

The Record also doesn't mention that the heavily discounted E-ZPass off-peak toll for hybrid cars with a Green Pass is going up on Sunday to $5.50 and the carpool discount, available at all hours, increases to $5 -- both are 75 cents more than before.

High-tech traffic system

The major element on today's front page reports on a high-tech traffic management system in the Meadowlands, but doesn't explain whether it can handle the influx of cars expected when American Dream, a huge entertainment and retail complex, opens (A-1).

In Hackensack news, Staff Writer Hannan Adely reports that more than $9,000 has been raised for James Brady, the former homeless man who was penalized for his honesty (Local front).

An indictment of Record Columnist Mike Kelly

The aftermath of a minor accident on South River Street in Little Ferry on Monday. I expected to see a photo of the crash used as filler in The Record's Local section on Tuesday, but the editors got excited over a trash fire in Westwood instead.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Columnist Mike Kelly takes the prize for most irresponsible journalist at The Record with his third attempt to smear the name of Richard Shoop, 20, the Teaneck man who chose a crowded mall on Nov. 4 for his very public suicide.

I recoil every time I see Kelly's dated column photo with his shit-eating grin, as I did on Tuesday's front page, which was dominated by his account of the funeral at a Teaneck church (A-1).

This was Kelly's third column about Shoop, who didn't intend to harm anyone but himself and even looked shoppers in the eye and told them "they were not his target," The Record reported on Page 1 last Wednesday.

Apparently inspired by statements from Prosecutor John L. Molinelli that Shoop had extra ammunition on him, as well as in his car, Kelly claimed in Tuesday's column the man was "seemingly intent on mass murder."

Isn't Shoop's story sad enough without Kelly linking him to the mass shootings at Columbine High School and Newtown, Conn., as he did in this and two previous columns?

Time to retire

Could it be that Kelly completely missed other angles -- the incredible show of force by police that set off panic at the Paramus mall and the total lack of meaningful security provided by the Australian owners?

On last Thursday's front page, a story reported the mall reopened amid "heightened security and assurances that New Jersey's largest mall is safe."

Unfortunately, the only evidence the editors could provide was a large, laughable photo of two Paramus cops patrolling inside, without automatic weapons or body armor, one with his hands in his pockets.  

In more than 20 years of column writing, Kelly has demonstrated one thing only: He does a superb job of filling space with his long, rambling, sensationalized accounts. 

Sadly, his lame reporting is as dishonest as that dated column photo. Few readers would miss him, if Editor Marty Gottlieb busted him back to reporter or simple fired his sorry ass.

Why taxes are so high

Today's front page is dominated by the story of James Brady, the formerly homeless man in Hackensack who was denied welfare benefits because he failed to report $850 he found in the street (A-1).

Brady, who appeared at Tuesday night's City Council meeting, said the homeless shouldn't be targeted unless they are doing something wrong -- a pointed reference to city Police Director Mike Mordaga's policy of cracking down on those with criminal records.

Mordaga has blamed the homeless -- attracted by three free meals a day at the county shelter -- for street crime, drug use and other problems.

Brady's undoing by the city bureaucracy has revealed that Agatha Toomey, the head of the Hackensack Human Services Department, is making an astounding $133,000 a year and has the use of a city car (A-6).

Governor Christie is paid $175,000 a year. No wonder my Hackensack property taxes are so high. 

More liabilities

Kelly isn't the only thing that's rotten in Woodland Park, as a letter to the editor from Dianne Douthat of Wayne shows.

She criticizes Editorial Page Editor Alfred P. Doblin for using his Nov. 8 column to pin voter apathy on people, but not accept "the role the media played"  (A-8).

"You could fit the amount of fair, balanced and unbiased reporting in this [gubernatorial] election from New Jersey's newspapers and periodicals on the head of one computer keyboard key," Douthat wrote.

Radio and TV news have been "obscenely biased for many years -- now it seems our local newspapers are following suit. No wonder so few people came out to vote," her letter said.

She called on Doblin and other journalists to examine their consciences and accept responsibility for their role in turning voters off.

Don't hold your breath, Dianne.

You may want to read my Nov. 5 post on voter apathy:

In New Jersey, apathetic morons stifle real change

Road litter

Another major liability at The Record is Road Warrior Columnist John Cichowski, whose idea of a major commuting issue is a piece on gas station renovations (L-1).

He focuses on ExxonMobil stations, even though millions are boycotting the oil company responsible for environmental damage in Alaska from the Exxon Valdez spill.

Today's column is the latest based on e-mails from readers who pepper him with questions instead of going to accurate sources of information, hoping they will see their names in print.

In his Sunday column, Cichowski reported that drivers "submitted" to testing for blood-alcohol concentration in fatal accidents, but failed to mention that the drivers were dead.

Read about the other flaws in the column on the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

Spotlight on the clueless Road Warrior

More sloppy work

Two more corrections ran on Tuesday's A-2, but today's paper has a few problem captions and at least one out-of-focus photo, suggesting that it wan't a good idea seven or eight years ago to stop checking the first copies off the press:

A story and photo of a new streetcar in Kenosha, Wis., has a caption that tells readers power comes from "overhead" (A-5).

At the bottom of L-1 today, a photo of two men is cropped so tightly neither is shown completely. The photo on L-2 has an out-of-focus background.

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.