Ex-boxer 'battled' cancer -- and more newspaper fiction

Two of the unrepaired potholes on Hackensack's Euclid Avenue, near Summit Avenue, above and below, part of a veritable minefield left over from our brutal winter that slows drivers to 10 mph, but unleashes a stream of curses directed at city officials and The Record's local-news editors.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Today's front-page headline on The Record's story about ex-boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter is confusing.

The trite main headline says Carter "loses his final bout," but the sub-headline notes he "fought years to clear his name and died a free man."

The writer assumes readers knew Carter had prostate cancer, which apparently was "his final bout."

Still, "final bout" is too close to "fought years to clear his name," and the headline writer failed to communicate Carter's death clearly.

Even more disturbing is The Record and other media always reporting that a subject "lost his/her battle" with the disease that killed them.

Judging from John Artis, Carter's friend and co-defendant in a triple-murder trial, it wasn't much of a battle.

"I'm sad he is gone, but relieved that the pain and suffering is over. There will be no more pain," Artis says (A-6).

More problems

This story has other problems of sloppy caption writing and lazy reporting.

On the continuation page, a caption notes, "Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter knocking out Italian Fabio Bettini in Paris in 1965 (A-6).

Yet the photo show both men in the ring, and no contact, hardly what you'd describe as "knocking out."

Even worse is the silly sidebar by Staff Writer Jim Norman, who was assigned to see what had changed at the Lafayette Grill nearly 50 years after the murders that led to the wrongful conviction of Carter and Artis (A-6).

Dissing Paterson

In keeping with The Record's slanted coverage of Paterson as a hell on earth, Norman claims "the neighborhood has changed over the nearly half-century that has left much of Paterson crumbling into dust."

Where has this reporter been? 

Hasn't he ever visited the Eastside's glorious mansions; the city's Great Falls or the bustling Middle Eastern bazaar known as South Paterson?

Shame on Norman and shame on the Woodland Park daily for continuing to mine all of Paterson's negativity while ignoring the Silk City's many attractions.

Other questions

Another front-page story today -- on the death of 76-year-old Dolores Bellina in a Carlstadt house fire -- never asks or answers a natural question:

Did the woman, who lived alone, smoke (A-1)?

Governor Christie's decision on whether to keep New Jersey Chief Justice Stewart Rabner is still about five weeks away, according to Staff Writer Charles Stile's column on Page 1 today.

Stile has written this column about Christie's image numerous times by just changing names and situations, but fails to deliver what every reader wants from a columnist: 

A strong opinion.

Reporters line up for fat P.R. gigs

A taco al pastor at El Califa Restaurant in Mexico City. You can't rely on The Record to tell you a credible version is available at a year-old Mexican restaurant in Englewood.

When you read The Record stories on the New Jersey Turnpike Authority today (A-3) and the Port Authority on Friday's front page, just remember the long line of reporters and editors who now hold six-figure public relations jobs there and elsewhere.

Look at how gently The Record is treating Governor Christie, who vetoed a proposed law to reform the free-spending, toll-raising bi-state agency while arranging high-paying jobs for his two failed Supreme Court nominees.

Insult to readers

Assemblywoman Valerie Huttle, D-Englewood, called the governor's action "an insult to commuters who were hit with record toll hikes last year."

Of course, the comment was buried on the continuation of Friday's Page 1 (A-8).

No editor or reporter -- who are poorly paid relative to the public relations people at big agencies and in state government -- wants to jeopardize his or her chance of getting one of those easy gigs  manipulating compliant media as a prelude to retiring on a fat pension.

On Saturday, the Woodland Park daily called Phillip Kwon, a failed high-court nominee, one of Christie's "loyalists," but there is no mention of whether Kwon donated money to the governor's campaign and if so, how much (A-1).

Christie's 'contacts'

Later in Saturday's story, dozens of campaign donors and former administration officials who got Christie-endorsed jobs at the Port Authority are referred to -- bizarrely -- as "contacts" (A-8).

The paper doesn't mention all of Christie's former assistant U.S. attorneys who now are riding the public gravy train thanks to the GOP bully's own personal pay-to-play system.

On A-3 today, look at the glowing terms used by Christie's mouthpiece to describe the other failed high-court nominee, Bruce Harris, a lawyer who has no courtroom experience:

"Mr. Harris is an exceptional attorney with a remarkable educational and legal background," winks spin-doctor Michael Drewniak.

Harris is being considered for general counsel of the Turnpike Authority. 

Undisclosed salaries

The Record is careful to omit any mention of Kwon's and Harris' future salaries to avoid outraging readers any further than they are.

In head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes' Local section, the big Hackensack news today is another lawsuit -- this one filed against a critic by a city official who is "close" to former Police Chief Ken Zisa.

At the behest of Sykes and Deputy Assignment Editor Dan Sforza, Hackensack reporter Stephanie Akin writes almost exclusively about the city's legal problems.

Utility pole news

On Friday, the big Hackensack news was a dump truck knocking down three utility poles -- part of the section's occasional series on felled poles and trees.

Amid paralyzing traffic jams and standing-room only on rush-hour buses and trains, the so-called commuting columnist spun an entire Friday column out of one couple's MVC woes (Road Warrior, L-1).

Half a plate

In food news, Restaurant Reviewer Elisa Ung finally endorses Las Maravillas de Tulcingo 3, the go-to place in Englewood for inexpensive and authentic Mexican fare (BL 16 and 17).

It's a shame her appraisal on Friday didn't mention the restaurant's terrific taco al pastor, made with pork and fresh pineapple, or some of the other dishes I enjoyed with my family last September:

A large guacamole, crunchy with chopped onion ($8); a large bowl of chicken soup, enough for two ($7); shrimp with peppers, onions and melted cheese, served on a large platter with yellow rice and beans ($11); and a whole, farmed tilapia that was deep fried and served with rice, beans and tortillas so we could make our own fish tacos ($13).

Loosely translated, the restaurant's name means "The Wonders of Tulcingo," a town in the state of Puebla from where the owners hail.

I'm not sure why Ung refers to the restaurant as being on "the west side of Englewood's downtown."

Is that her code to readers who might be wary of venturing over the tracks to the ethnic, working-class side of a city known for its high-end boutiques and multimillion-dollar East Hill mansions?

Also, the center food photo with the review is out of focus and appears to have been mislabeled "cactus salad." 

Cancer on the menu?

Today, the Better Living cover celebrates unhealthy chili and hot dogs under the titles of "North Jersey Classics" and "LOCAL EATS."

As far as I know, Rutt's Hutt, Hiram's and the other places serve hot dogs filled with harmful antibiotics and preservatives.

The latter, including nitrates and nitrites, have been linked to cancer.