JFK assassination, immigrant students and retail

Most but not all of the residents of Clinton Place in Hackensack took down their Halloween displays today, above and below. From the looks of The Record's front page today, you'd think a zombie editor was at work in the Woodland Park newsroom.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Look out, readers, it's the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy -- one of the saddest days in American history, right up there with the murders of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy.

Instead of exploring why we still have so much gun violence and such a strong racist reaction to President Obama, The Record's front page asks, "Where were you that day?"

The sub-headline uses this phrase: "JFK's assassination."

Doesn't that mean the assassination belongs to John F. Kennedy? If so, that is incorrect, another Page 1 screw-up missed by six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton. 

50 years ago?

Most of The Record's readers can't remember where they were 50 days ago, let alone a half-century earlier, so what's the point of this journalistic exercise?

The anniversary is on Nov. 22, so it's not clear why The Record is marking it today, 21 days early.

The only other stories on A-1 today are process stories -- the blow-by-blow on allowing illegal immigrant students to pay lower in-state tuition rates, and the public financing of the huge entertainment and retail complex called American Dream.

Is this Editor Marty Gottlieb's concept of breaking news or local news?

Booker and Buono?

The swearing in of Cory Booker as the state's first African-American U.S. senator is on A-3 today, but no one thought to ask him if he will be campaigning for Barbara Buono, the Democratic state senator who is an uphill battle with the GOP bully, Governor Christie (A-3).

In Local, Deputy Assignment Flunky Dan Sforza played trick or treat on readers again, and readers were tricked.

Eight Law & Order or court stories appear in the section.

Simply mediocre

Better Living has another lukewarm restaurant review from Staff Writer Elisa Ung, this time of Bistro du Saigon in Fort Lee (BL-10).

You know the place is forgettable when Ung spends the first half of the review talking about everything else but the food.

There are only two words you need to know to find great Vietnamese food in Bergen County: Simply Vietnamese, a BYO in Tenafly.

Editors continue to sanitize Christie's racism

A minor drama unfolded Wednesday afternoon on Cedar Lane in Teaneck, as captured in my car's driver-side mirror.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

The Record's editors and reporters did a great job censoring any mention of race in today's two front-page stories about a state Supreme Court ruling on affordable housing.

A long news story,  an "ANALYSIS" and an editorial carefully omit any mention of minorities, who are the chief beneficiaries of low- and moderate-income housing (A-1,  A-11 and A-18).

Mention of Christie's 2010 dismissal of Associate Justice John E. Wallace Jr. appears twice, but readers aren't told he was the only African-American on the high court.

The Record mimics Christie's spin doctors in portraying the ruling as the work of liberal v. conservative members of the court, as well an attack on home rule.

More elitism

Christie's bid to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing is another in a long line of regressive policies that cater to the overwhelmingly white elite who support him.

This is the kind of dishonest journalism The Record has practiced for many years, especially in the work of such columnists as Road Worrier John Cichowski and Mike Kelly, who thankfully is on leave this month.

An A-3 story on NJ Transit's budget doesn't mention whether the agency will be providing more rush-hour seats for rail and bus riders, who frequently have to stand in the aisles -- a non-issue as far as The Record is concerned.

Law & Order

Head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section is filled with police and court news (L-1, L-2, L-3 and L-6).

Two Hackensack news stories and a photo appear on L-2 and L-3 today.

A photo of an actor in "Tracers," a movie being filmed in Hackensack, carries a puzzling overline: 

"HITTING THE WALL IN HACKENSACK"

The Better Living cover promotes Due, another overpriced restaurant in Ridgewood, without saying whether entrees costing up to $36 are made with naturally raised meat (BL-1).

Wrong again

In his column on Wednesday, Cichowski provided the wrong number for a bill that would penalize drivers who don't keep right, according to an e-mail from a concerned reader:

"For his July 10 column, the Road Warrior misinforms and confuses his readers about a recently passed New Jersey bill, which he identified with the wrong bill number.

"It would increase fines and surcharges for those who hog the left lanes and don't yield to passing vehicles or don't normally stay to the right, except when passing other vehicles.

"He compounds his mistakes by inferring that NJ commuters and cops should adhere to the requirements of the passed bill, which he failed to mention has several deficiencies.

"It is not NJ law since it has not been signed into law by Governor Christie, who may veto this measure, which has been described as a silly or dumb bill.

"He confuses and mislead readers with his lack of knowledge in response to questions about traffic circles and no-cash tolls on the GWB lower level during overnight hours."

Click on the following link to see the full e-mail to the editors and management on the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers:

John Cichowski is making readers pay