Gannett front pages are cheapening our local daily paper

On Nov. 6, 2013, The Record published this photo of two Paramus police officers who were hired to patrol Westfield Garden State Plaza, but only after a disturbed man with a rifle invaded the state's biggest mall two days earlier, fired shots that panicked hundreds of shoppers and employees, and then committed suicide. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If I didn't know better, I'd think veteran retailing reporter Joan Verdon has been assigned to write promotional Page 1 pieces about one of The Record's biggest advertisers.

On Saturday, below the fold, she reported "a video-gaming theater" with room for 30 people to compete simultaneously had replaced "a Venetian-style double-decker carousel" at Garden State Plaza in Paramus.

On Thursday, her front-page story on how shoppers could reserve $10 parking spaces appeared above the fold.

Neither story could be considered "news." 

But they expose how profit-hungry publishers like the Borg family and Gannett, which bought The Record in July, don't hesitate to cheapen the front page of what once was a respected local daily newspaper. 

Since last month's redesign of the print edition, readers don't know what to expect from day to day. 

Gannett editors seem to have lost sight of their mission as journalists to report on issues that affect state residents.

Instead, they continue to sensationalize the politics that divide the state and nation.  

Sunday edition

Today's front page has only three main elements -- stories about President-elect Donald J. Trump's arrogant son-in-law; Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno's belated bid to come out from behind Governor Christie; and Karen Koehler of Park Ridge, who is in complete remission after trying an experimental cancer treatment (1A).

The last is the kind of gee-whiz medical story The Record seems to specialize in -- instead of tackling the obesity epidemic or heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the United States.

A story on the alarming condition of the state's drinking water system is buried on 11A.

Saturday's paper

Saturday's front page also was narrowly focused: Stories about New Jersey Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen being picked to head the House Appropriations Committee, and a Passaic County imam again facing deportation charges.

Friday's edition, on the other hand, reported on issues that affect almost everyone:

How Christie has diverted hundreds of millions of dollars from environmental settlements to balance the state budget; a state appeals court ruling that stopped the governor from scrapping civil service exam requirements; and the uncertainty since the presidential election about bringing Syrian refugees to New Jersey.

Also, starting on Jan. 1, the right of adopted children to obtain their birth certificates and if not redacted, the names of their birth parents.

Local news?

Today's Local section carries a story on the Hackensack Board of Education's search for a new superintendent, but doesn't explain why Karen Lewis was fired unexpectedly in June (3L).

On the Local front, a column reports on a student movement to improve pedestrian safety on River Road in Teaneck, where a Chinese woman who held a master's degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University was struck in a crosswalk and killed on Nov. 21.

Staff Writer John Cichowski reports "the petition doesn't cover driving laws or conduct." 

But the so-called Road Warrior again treats graduate Weiqi Wang as so much road kill when he fails to advocate stronger laws to punish drivers with long jail sentences after they strike and fatally injure pedestrians in a crosswalk.

After Castro

The Record's coverage of the death of Fidel Castro has been lopsided, and today's Opinion front piece by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez is no exception (1O).

"We can only hope the death of Fidel Castro will be the first crack in the Cuban regime's stranglehold on power and that the people of Cuba will finally move one step closer to freedom," says Menendez, whose parents were born on the Caribbean's biggest island.

The senator downplays all of Cuba's achievements, and doesn't even mention how the 1959 revolution brought racial equality to an island that had long been strictly segregated.

Travel section

Today, Travel Editor Jill Schensul reports on how terrorism is influencing where we vacation (1T).

But why hasn't she ever discussed crime in Jamaica, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands?

Next to her column today is a rave from the Detroit Free Press about "the first overwater bungalows in the Caribbean" in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

In one of many editing lapses in today's paper, the first paragraph says the bungalows "open Dec. 2" -- that was Friday.

In Better Living, a photo caption on 3BL starts out this way: 

"Christopher Bates of FLX Table in Geneva ...," so you might wonder why The Record is devoting nearly a whole page to a chef in Switzerland.

When you read the first two paragraphs of the story, you learn the restaurant is in Geneva, N.Y., in the Finger Lakes region.

Still, why is a New Jersey paper devoting almost an entire page to Chef Bates and the food he serves? 

Lazy editors praise lowly cold cuts, hide their real harm

An NJ Transit train passing Euclid Avenue in Hackensack on Tuesday. Today, The Record's front page carries more official jawboning on building new Hudson River rail tunnels to expand service to the city, but there is no telling how many months or years commuters will have to wait for an actual agreement on its financing by the two states and the federal government.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You'll find the biggest laugh line in today's paper on the front page of The Record's Better Living section, where some desperate reporter compares lowly cold cuts at a supermarket deli counter to "Starbucks, and its myriad coffees and lattes."

Not even close.

Nearly all of the cold cuts sold at deli counters come from animals raised on harmful antibiotics, growth hormones and animal by-products, though you won't find even a mention of that in Staff Writer John Petrick's long story (BL-1).

If you're not buying Applegate Farms cold cuts -- which are antibiotic- as well as preservative-free -- you're a lazy consumer who has been feeding your family crap (BL-8).

Petrick apparently was under orders not to alienate all of the supermarkets who rake in big profits from selling cheap lunch meat, because revenue from their advertising fliers props up North Jersey Media Group.

Consumer Reports

In recent years, Consumer Reports has linked the widespread use of human antibiotics to raise chickens and other animals on factory farms to a growing antibiotic resistance among humans.

In fact, the magazine launched a campaign to get Trader Joe's to pledge that the national chain wouldn't sell any meat or poultry raised on antibiotics.

Of course, you haven't seen that reported in The Record, where the chief restaurant critic, Elisa Ung, once referred to Consumer Reports "as the magazine many of us use to buy a washing machine."

More Page 1 B.S.

Today, Editor Martin Gottlieb publishes another long, tedious piece from opinion Columnist Mike Kelly that is completely devoid of any opinions (A-1).

As with so many Kelly columns, readers will find this one on U.S. Sen Robert Menendez indistinguishable from a news story -- except for the outdated, unflattering thumbnail photo of the veteran reporter flashing a shit-eating grin.

The "dual life" of Menendez as "statesman" and "defendant" is just more media bullshit.

The nuclear deal with Iran and the corruption charges against the senior U.S. senator from New Jersey have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

And the federal jury that may be asked to decide his guilt or innocence will do so based on the evidence and the law, not Menendez's record in the Senate.

In fact, President Obama has vowed to veto any bill that tries to kill the Iran deal, so why waste so much valuable space on the front page reporting congressional objections? 

GOP bully

Governor Christie has lost more ground as a Republican presidential candidate -- he's now in 11th place -- so why is the story on the front page today in place of more legitimate state news (A-1)? 

Another Page 1 story carries this headline:

"First step
on path
to a new 
rail tunnel" 

Of course, the "first step" comes nearly five years after Christie killed the last project to build new rail tunnels under the Hudson River and expand service to and from the city.

But it is only in the last 18 months or so that the editors, their so-called commuting columnist and other transportation reporters have paid any real attention to North Jersey's long-standing mass transit crisis.

Local news?

A meeting of the Hackensack City Council was scheduled for Tuesday night, but I don't see anything in Local today (L-1 to L-6).

On L-3 today, a story reports a non-fatal fire Monday night on Polify Road in Hackensack displaced six people and that five first-responders were treated.

Today's story describes "a garden apartment complex;" on Tuesday, a brief about the same fire said they were "town houses."

On L-2, businesses are offering discounts during Senior Citizen Appreciation Week in Passaic County.

There is no explanation of why the Allwood Diner, IHOP, Triangle Diner, McDonald's and Amor Cucina are offering free dessert or ice cream to seniors, many of whom are diabetic or simply watching their weight and cholesterol.

More evidence many N.J. politicians are rotten to the core

The Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, the sixth built for the county, celebrated its 100th birthday in 2012.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The front page of The Record today once again is consumed with the defense cases of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and Joseph Ferriero, a former Democratic Party power broker in Bergen County (A-1).

In the past few weeks, Editor Martin Gottlieb has been pushing back against federal prosecutors, a federal grand jury indictment and, on Thursday, a guilty verdict against Ferriero.

Is this any way for the editor of a supposedly objective daily newspaper to be acting?

The indictment of Menendez and trial of Ferriero have exposed both men's greed while representing the party of the middle class.

A developer, builder, supermarket owner, Port Authority commissioner and others have given Menendez $1.3 million to pay for his legal defense on federal corruption charges.

Do these contributors expect anything in return or are they paying some "debt" to the senior senator from New Jersey? 

Ferriero can't appeal his racketeering conviction until he is sentenced, but The Record is already working hard to lay out losing defense lawyer's Michael Baldassere's legal arguments.

Today's story repeats much of what Baldassere told a gullible Mike Kelly for his Friday column.

Christie P.R. 

Gottlieb gives better play to Governor Christie's return to New Hampshire (A-3) than to another downgrade of New Jersey's credit rating (A-4).

An editorial notes the ninth credit-rating downgrade in six years and a loss of jobs is "not good news for a governor thinking about running for president" or residents (A-11).

Royal carriage

And will you get a load of the horse-drawn carriage bearing the casket of Cliffside Park Mayor Gerald Calabrese, who died at 90 (Page 1 photo)?

The story on the Local front doesn't report whether New Jersey's longest serving mayor turned borough hall into an employment agency for relatives, friends and cronies in the best tradition of home rule (L-1).

Calabrese's son, Thomas, is council president and acting mayor. 

Local news?

Law & Order news is so prevalent in today's Local section, a story about a man getting five years in prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl gets better play than Calabrese's funeral (L-1).

The lead story from a weekly, Paterson Press, reports the family of Nazerah Bugg, 14, wants the three teenagers held in her shooting death to be tried as adults (L-1).

A related story on L-6 quotes Superior Court Judge Bruno Mongiardo lamenting "the street violence that has consumed Paterson's streets."

But the judge, like The Record, does not blame the Police Department, Police Director Jerry Speziale or the country's gun culture.

Hackensack reporter Todd South does a nice job covering an Earth Day celebration at the Fanny Meyer Hillers School -- a rare education story from the county seat (L-3).

Our next president isn't pictured on the front page today

In Hackensack on Tuesday morning, a man walked his young son across the NJ Transit tracks on Railroad Avenue, a largely residential neighborhood that has lived with passing trains in its front yard for decades. In 2012, a 12-year-old boy walking home from school was killed by a train, but The Record didn't bother asking officials why fences were never put up to protect residents.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Governor Christie is taking his lies, distortions and mean-spirited policies on the road again in what The Record calls a presidential "campaign trip in all but name" (A-1).

But you can't tell from today's upbeat front-page coverage -- including four A-1 photos of the GOP bully in New Hampshire -- that Christie is damaged goods, a politician who is unlikely to get the nomination, let alone the victory.

And I'll bet there are unhappy workers in dead-end jobs in the Woodland Park newsroom and all around the country who would vote against Christie just to avoid having to wait until they are 64 to retire early.

Today's Page 1 story is written by Melissa Hayes, the reporter assigned to cover Christie, in her usual adoring style, as you can tell immediately from the first paragraph.

Christie's proposals for Social Security and federal health care are called "overhauls," not cuts (A-1).

"Today, one of the most unpopular governors in the country is unveiling what soon will become one of the most unpopular entitlement reform plans," U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, said, according to PolitickerNJ.com.

Bob Menendez

After Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted by a federal grand jury, The Record leapt to his defense, quoting one defense attorney after another claiming his actions on behalf of a Florida eye doctor were inspired by friendship, not bribery.

Today, Dr. Salomon Melgen, 61, the senator's friend, is back on Page 1 after he was indicted for allegedly trying to bilk Medicare of more than $190 million and receiving $105 million (A-1).

In 2012 alone, health officials reported, Melgen billed Medicare $21 million, more than any other doctor in the nation, The New York Times reported.

If anything, Menendez's really poor judgment in calling this man a friend and accepting free travel and Paris hotel rooms from him should be questioned.

More corrections

The news, assignment and copy desks are on a roll, admitting to two more editing screw-ups on A-2 today.

Readers know The Record only acknowledges a few of the many errors that appear in the paper every day now that six-figure Production Editor Liz Houlton, supervisor of the copy desk, has eliminated all fact checking and limited editing to spell checking.

If you think the A-7 photo of Menendez is unflattering, check out the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center construction photo the news editors are running on A-9 today.

Local news?

Assignment Editors Deirdre Sykes and Dan Sforza continue to rely heavily on Law & Order and court news to fill the thin local-news section, robbing readers of legitimate municipal news (L-1 to L-6).

Four of the six stories on the Local front today distract readers from how poorly many of our towns and school systems are run -- which are among the issues The Record's lazy editors have never been eager to tackle.

Spring surprise

What's the point of running recipes for shad roe with such unhealthy ingredients as butter and bacon that many readers are trying to avoid (BL-1 and BL-4)?

Why are editors building a defense case for Menendez?

What looks like a World War II-era poster in Hackensack's City Hall shows that the benefits of whole grains have been known for many decades.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Record's lead story today is yet another attempt to build a defense case for Sen. Bob Menendez, who faces a federal trial that is probably more than a year away (A-1).

That means Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson and reporters in the Woodland Park newsroom likely will regurgitate these same arcane legal arguments in the days before New Jersey's senior senator goes before a jury on bribery charges.

The best story on Page 1 today reports that Exxon Mobil regarded the wetlands around two refineries in New Jersey as little more than waste receptacles (A-1).

It's unclear why Editor Martin Gottlieb led with the third or fourth story defending Menendez, and not the Exxon Mobil expose.

Even putting pollution  aside, Exxon's Bayway Refinery in Linden has irreparably damaged New Jersey's reputation with the hundreds of thousands of out-of-state motorists who have driven by the smelly complex on the turnpike. 

Robs readers

For every positive Menendez story, Gottlieb is robbing readers of some hard-hitting reporting on the corrupt campaign finance system and public officials who think nothing of repeatedly violating the public trust.

Gottlieb devotes a huge amount of front-page space to the Germanwings tragedy for the second day in a row, even though readers have tired of the story (A-1).

Local news?

A story about a small goat found roaming Paramus streets (L-1), and a long, wire service obituary on the creator of the Pet Rock (L-6) are clear indications the poor editors who got stuck working on Sunday weren't able to find much local news.

The goat headline and the plays on words attempted by the reporter all fall flat.

One unexplored scenario is that the animal escaped being curried for a family's Easter dinner.

Columns, debates, what-ifs -- another boring front page

Gasoline is still under $2 a gallon at this station in Teaneck.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

BORING!!!!!

Despite all his accomplishments at The New York Times, Editor Martin Gottlieb continues to bore readers of The Record of Woodland Park.

I can't imagine a duller front page for a Sunday edition than the one I'm looking at today.

Not one, but two tedious columns. A news story about a U.S. senator I never heard of, a Republican named Corker. And a story on a Teaneck doctor who "interviews pilots about their health."

Corruption

If readers bother plowing through the lead Page 1 column on former Bergen County Democratic chief Joseph Ferriero and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, they will search in vain for an opinion from the burned-out reporter who has been churning out this kind of crap since 1988 (A-1).

Gottlieb must think all you have to do to have a column is add a dated thumbnail photo of Mike Kelly's shit-eating grin.

But readers look to Kelly for an opinion about the corrupt campaign-finance system and whether he believes greed led Ferriero and Menendez to violate the public trust. (See editorial on O-2 today.)

You won't find any opinions in his overlong column, just a rewrite of all that has appeared so far on the corruption charges against the two men and the "profound questions" they raise.

Local news

At least today's Local section actually found municipal news to report: 

Three stories about Englewood -- two by a weekly reporter -- but only one each from Teaneck and Hackensack.

Hackensack Police Director Mike Mordaga told Staff Writer Todd South a police captain filed a lawsuit only after he was passed over for a promotion to top commander (L-1).

Commenting on the suit by Capt. Thomas Salcedo, Mordaga says "he's broken no laws and that the department has followed all rules and guidelines."

Mordaga also said Salcedo was named in several lawsuits filed by police officers who were under his command, and all were settled by the city.

Trucks, litter

Road Warrior John Cichowski once again explores the irrelevant with today's column on highway litter (L-1).

Most drivers are slobs. What can you do? 

His previous column was on tractor-trailers that used residential streets. Wow! 

Hey, Cichowski, there are way too many cars clogging our streets and highways. 

You should be writing about the sorry state of mass transit and other commuting topics, but you're too lazy for that, and your editors are too stupid to notice.

Healthy eating

John Petrick was a feature writer in the old Hackensack newsroom who got on somebody's shit list and was exiled to cover the Passaic County Courthouse in Paterson.

He worked there for several years, and did a terrific job covering trials and indictments in the busy courthouse.

Now, he's back writing features. Today, he has finally awakened to the trend of people trying to eat healthy when they go out to restaurants (BL-1).

But Petrick doesn't explain why Elisa Ung, the paper's chief restaurant critic, is always making a pig of herself, gorging on enormous cuts of questionable beef and artery clogging desserts.

As for Ung, her column today again takes the focus off of restaurants serving low-quality food at high prices, such as those steakhouses she loves (BL-1).

What revolution?

Sadly, the "retail revolution" reported on today's Business section cover has nothing to do with the return of real customer service (B-1).

Long legal battle facing Menendez is no popularity contest

The 1:10 p.m. NY Waterway Ferry from Manhattan approaching the Weehawken terminal on Wednesday. Even if you take mass transit to the ferry, it is one of the most expensive ways to commute. The round-trip senior fare is $16.50 compared to $3.80 round-trip for an NJ Transit express bus to the city. Garage parking in Weehawken costs an additional $14.

In Manhattan, the NY Waterway Ferry Terminal on 12th Avenue was built next to the towering Lincoln Tunnel vent. Red, white and blue shuttle buses are free.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

What's the point of comparing the legal battle facing Sen. Bob Menendez to a sports contest or looking for his supporters on the streets of Union City, the onetime Cuban-American stronghold?

Today, on the front page, the editors of The Record continue to minimize the federal bribery indictment handed up against New Jersey's senior senator and a wealthy eye doctor, Salomon Melgen (A-1).

The Page 1 headline -- "Hometown advantage" -- is even sillier than Friday's "Friendship under fire."

The long federal trial facing the defendants will be no popularity contest, and you can be sure none of the people interviewed by The Record will be serving on the jury that will decide Menendez's and Melgen's guilt or innocence.

Deep doo-doo

The truth is Menendez, a Democrat who now lives in Paramus, finds himself in deep doo-doo for accepting free travel, expensive hotel rooms and campaign contributions from Melgen, then pushing the doctor's business and personal interests with other government officials.

Like Menendez, most of the Cuban-Americans who lived in Union City moved out long ago, so calling it "Havana on the Hudson" in the first paragraph of today's story is inaccurate.

The editors had to send Staff Writer Monsy Alvarado to Union City with reporter Melissa Hayes because the former is one of the few newsroom staffers fluent in Spanish. LOL.

Christie record

More than five long years into the Christie administration, The Record finally discovers what everyone already knew:

Governor Christie is no friend of the environment, having filed only two new environmental damage suits, compared to the hundreds filed in the six years before he took office (A-1).

Local news?

The Record's Local section, including today's, often resembles a print version of Jerry DeMarco's Cliffview Pilot.com, but missing all the detail that Law & Order news site is known for.

Today, crime or court news appears on all but one of the six pages edited so poorly by The Record's head assignment editor, Deirdre Sykes, and her incompetent minions, including her deputy, Dan Sforza (L-1 to L-6).

On Friday, Sykes and Sforza used a filler photo of two cars and a motorcycle that had crashed in Paramus, but typically, the caption was devoid of any information.

Today, both Cliffview Pilot.com and The Record report one of the drivers, John Pavloski, 82, of Fair Lawn was issued a summons for cutting off the motorcycle and crashing into an SUV (L-3).

The role of an elderly driver in that accident highlights how The Record and Road Warrior Columnist John Cichowski have routinely ignored the challenges facing older drivers and older journalists.

Just as Cichowski hasn't bothered to find out whether retraining is available for older drivers, the editors haven't bothered reigning in the confused reporter's propensity to commit error after error in column after column.

See the Facebook page for Road Warrior Bloopers for a discussion of how Cichowski screwed up his column on "The Car Book" last Sunday:

Reporter is unsafe at any speed 

Small minds

No one seems to have edited a story on L-3 today.

It reports a tapas restaurant that opened "along" East Ridgewood Avenue in Ridgewood was closed for fire-code violations.

The reporter, Chris Harris, says a notice is "adorning" the front door of Finca.

Later, Harris reports "the eatery resides in the former shell of the Stable [italics added]."

Second look

If you think that's embarrassing, on Friday, Elisa Ung rated Tom Yum Koong, a small Thai restaurant in Hasbrouck Heights, Good to Excellent despite:

"Leathery slices of beef" in a green curry, overly crusty spring rolls and crispy shrimp,  overcooked whole red snapper, unripe fruit in a dessert with banana, bland red-bean flavor in red-bean ice cream and no sticky rice with mango, which the overfed restaurant reviewer calls "the most famous Thai dessert."

The week before, she gave the same Good to Excellent rating to Grissini, the "wildly expensive" Italian-American restaurant in Englewood Cliffs.

Is Ung's judgment reliable or is it time to replace the dessert- and meat-obsessed reporter, who has been beating this dead horse since 2006?

Did you catch a big laugh line at Ferriero corruption trial?

More urban renewal in Hackensack. On Thursday, buildings were being demolished on Main Street near Mercer Street, above and below, to make way for a 14-story residential-retail project.

The new building at 150-170 Main St. will have 382 apartments, the biggest such project so far in the city's downtown redevelopment, and 7,500 square feet of ground-floor retail.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On a front page dominated by the Iran deal and political corruption at home, Joe Ferriero's defense attorney inadvertently cracked a one-liner that has readers of The Record rolling in the aisles.

According to a paraphrase by Staff Writer Peter J. Sampson, the lawyer told jurors at his corruption trial in Newark that Ferriero "was simply a guy trying to make a living" (A-1).

Federal prosecutors claim the Hackensack lawyer "once used his position as head of the Democratic Party in Bergen County to enrich himself through a series of bribery and extortion schemes" that allegedly netted him  more than $1.7 million.

That's not a living; it's a killing.

And defense lawyer Michael Baldassare also found himself in the unenviable position of telling jurors that Ferriero won't testify in his own defense, as he promised at the beginning of the trial.

That is sure to damage the defendant.

Menendez case

Meanwhile, The Record continues defending Sen. Bob Menendez, who, along with a wealthy Florida eye doctor, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a federal bribery indictment (A-1).

How else can you interpret the stupid main headline?

"Friendship under fire"

It doesn't sound as if any of The Record reporters on the Menendez case have spent much time in a federal courthouse, and that is a big weakness in the coverage.

Defense attorneys are quoted extensively making excuses for Menendez, but federal prosecutors weren't asked to comment.

Sampson, a veteran federal courthouse reporter, is covering the Ferriero trial or he would have been assigned to the Menendez case.

Menendez is referred to as "an accused criminal," not as a defendant (A-8).

And it's hard to see how one allegation can be called "friendship."

"New Jersey's senior senator tried to help [Dr. Salomon] Melgen keep $9 million that Medicare said he overbilled the government" (A-8).

Local news?

The resignation of  Hackensack Councilwoman Rose Greenman, who claims to be a victim of "discrimination," is one of the few municipal stories in today's thin Local news section (L-1).

It must be great to be head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes or her deputy, Dan Sfroza, who pull down fat paychecks in return for filling Local with Law & Order news and non-fatal accident photos.

The view from Moore Street, above and below, opposite the old headquarters of The Record at 150 River St.

One of the buildings slated for demolition housed Main Dish, a restaurant at 152 Main St., where Naturally Good operated for many years, attracting employees of The Record before North Jersey Media Group and its flagship paper abandoned Hackensack in 2009.

Menendez front page is a wink and nod at insider deals

The 7:40 a.m. NY Waterway Ferry took about 10 minutes to reach midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, but driving to the Weehawken terminal from Hackensack during rush hour ate up 45 minutes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The defendant is supposed to come out swinging, not the editors of The Record.

But today's front page -- nearly all of which is devoted to Bob Menendez's legal problems -- calls into question The Record's objectivity in reporting a 14-count federal bribery indictment against the state's senior U.S. senator (A-1).

In a sidebar, Staff Writer Mary Jo Layton, quoting "several white-collar defense experts," claims "federal prosecutors face many hurdles in making their corruption case" against the Democrat (A-1).

This is a virtual rewrite of Herb Jackson's front-page story a few weeks ago, after CNN reported top Justice Department lawyers had "signed off on the charges" (A-8).

What else would defense lawyers say? 

They have to justify the huge retainer they demand from defendants like Menendez, and the hundreds of thousands in legal fees that follow when the cases go to trial.

A bad taste

A U.S. senator enjoying a lavish, jet-setting lifestyle courtesy of a friend -- allegedly for promoting the friend's "business and personal interests" -- leaves a bad taste in the mouth of taxpayers and certainly appears to be improper, if not illegal (A-1).

The Borg family, which owns North Jersey Media Group, publisher of the Woodland Park daily, also treats their business associates and friends favorably.

In recent years, The Record has run at least two stories promoting business associates of the Borgs without disclosing those ties.

And in January, Publisher Stephen A. Borg announced a sale-leaseback deal with a close family friend involving the company's printing plant on 16.67 acres in Rockaway Township.

Borg said the agreement was with a fund sponsored by the Hampshire Cos. of Morristown, but didn't mention that Jon F. Hanson is its chairman and founder or that his father, Chairman Malcolm A. "Mac" Borg, and Hanson had jointly purchased a private jet in 2011.

Hanson is a major fund-raiser for Governor Christie, and advises him on sports and entertainment policy.

The Rockaway Township deal is worth about $30 million.

Branching out?

The byline of Jay Levin, The Record's local obituary writer, appears today on a front-page story about bunnies that just about the only relief  from the Menendez saga.

Levin's second byline is on the Better Living front feature called "The Name-Dropper" (BL-1).

Family dynasties

The upbeat story on the nearly 40-year reign of the Parisi family in Englewood Cliffs makes such dynasties sound like a good thing instead of one of the worst aspects of home rule (L-1).

Staff Writer Kim Lueddeke even mentions how the Zisa family "once dominated Hackensack so thoroughly that some called the city 'Zisaville'" (L-5).

But Lueddeke shouldn't have stopped there, because Hackensack still is haunted by Ken "I Am The Law" Zisa, its corrupt police chief, and the millions of dollars it took to fight all the lawsuits filed against him.

Today, Staff Writer Todd South reports on a lawsuit filed against Hackensack Police Director Mike Mordaga by Capt. Thomas Salcedo (L-3).

Wednesday's paper

On Wednesday, South reported the Union County Prosecutor's Office is handling the investigation of a March 9 pedestrian fatality in Hackensack that involved a detective from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

South's story on Wednesday's L-2 quotes Mordaga as saying "that it's quite common practice to have outside agencies review such incidents."

Avoiding any conflict of interest also is cited in the story.

Blogger's role

Of course, The Record doesn't acknowledge that Eye on The Record looked into the death of Hue D. Dang, 64, of Hackensack, and questioned the decision not to charge Detective Sgt. John C. Straniero, whose unmarked car knocked down and fatally injured the woman.

Eye on The Record also questioned Hackensack police saying they didn't know where the woman was standing, even though their own report and other evidence strongly indicated she was in or near the Jackson Avenue crosswalk when she was hit -- a crosswalk they never mentioned to The Record.

I called the state police and emailed the state Attorney General's Office about those concerns, leading to the case being given to the Union County Prosecutor's Office on Monday.

Wedesday's L-1 carries another story about a pedestrian in North Bergen who was fatally injured by the car of a West New York police officer.

This story, like the March 11 account about Dang's death, doesn't mention whether any charges will be filed. 

More Christie B.S.

Wednesday's front page gives Christie a soap box to justify his withholding $1.8 billion from state pension funds.

But the editors shoved back to A-3 complaints from Democrats that Christie is being far from honest about the fiscal health of the Transportation Trust Fund.

Wednesday's A-2 carried an embarrassing correction of a front-page story on the effort to recall Mahwah's mayor.  

All of a sudden, Christie is sensitive about his weight

Hackensack's new City Council at a meeting in July. Did The Record cover the council meeting on Tuesday night, and, if so, when will it tell readers what happened?

By Victor E. Sasson

Editor

In his first three years in office, Governor Christie's waistline ballooned, he was hospitalized on a hot summer day in 2011 after an asthma attack and he refused to tell the national media how much he weighed.

The Record and other state media never asked how much Christie weighed nor have they bothered reporting what, if anything, his administration has done to fight the childhood obesity epidemic.

Meanwhile, he was the butt of jokes by late-night TV comedians, and even pulled out a donut and crammed it into his mouth during an appearance on David Letterman's show.

400-pound bully?

Letterman guessed Christie weighed 400 pounds. Finally, early this year, Christie gave up pretending to control his eating, and had weight-loss surgery.

Now, the GOP bully is objecting to a seemingly innocent comment by state Sen. Barbara Buono, D-Middlesex, about his appearance in TV ads promoting the Jersey shore after Superstorm Sandy (A-1 and A-3).

"I'm very disappointed that she has decided to go down that road for me and other folks across New Jersey, many folks who are challenged by their weight," the governor told Staff Writer Melissa Hayes (A-3).

Easy choice

What a joke. Christie has been in denial for decades, as are the grossly overweight local editors at The Record who have refused to launch a series on obesity.

In the November gubernatorial election, voters have a simple choice between a fit woman who cares about the middle class and an overweight governor who does the bidding of the wealthy and other fat cats.

Going national

Editor Marty Gottlieb has fashioned another front page -- for The Times or another national newspaper -- with local stories playing second fiddle.

What are readers supposed to make of the boring ANALYSIS about Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., supposedly "on [the] world stage" during the debate over attacking Syria (A-1)?

Is The Record grooming him for an invasion of communist Cuba and the presidency of the Caribbean's biggest island?

Below the fold, a story about saving a plot of land in the Meadowlands falls into the "that's nice" category, but can readers visit and see for themselves (A-1)?

On A-2 today, 3 of the many errors that have appeared in recent days are corrected.

Go home, LG

When is The Record going to stop pretending that a new LG Electronics' corporate headquarters -- which would be an indelible scar on the Palisades north of the bridge -- will by itself lift the economy of Bergen County (A-1 and A-4)?

This is nothing more than an irresponsibly selfish grab by ratable-hungry officials in Englewood Cliffs, and a South Korean conglomerate eager to put the company logo in view of millions of New York consumers.

More local slop

Readers of head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section have become accustomed to accident-photo captions supplying no information on the possible cause or other important information.

But today's sensational coverage of a Route 17 crash that killed a 31-year-old mother and seriously injured a father -- while their baby was left home alone -- is a new low for the copy desk and Production Editor Liz Houlton (L-1).

The L-1 photo caption says "a car broke into three pieces after hitting a thick metal pole on Route 17 in Lodi," but that's contradicted by the story:

"The impact of the accident and the rescue attempt [italics added] left the car mangled and broken into three pieces" (L-2).

Putting aside the awkward phrase "impact of the accident," readers are left with questions about what caused the car to break up.

Was speed a factor? Why doesn't the story address that?

Are Houlton and her copy editors doing anything more than spell-checking stories and slapping headlines and captions on them?

Back to school

Also on L-1, Road Warrior John Cichowski is so desperate to get readers interested in another column that has nothing to do with commuting (school-bus inspections), he begins with a total non-sequitur about car owners too busy for emissions testing (L-1).

Of course, readers in Hackensack and other towns without school busing just turned the page. 

Two local obituaries appear today, apparently marking the end of a vacation for Staff Writer Jay Levin (L-6).

One reader I heard from on Monday thought The Record had missed the death of former Freeholder and Midland Park Mayor William Van Dyke, but the obit appears today, albeit 8 days after the fact.