Tackling the big story

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No matter how many big stories The Record of Woodland Park covers, each one is a challenge the paper has to rise to.


Today's front-page coverage of the devastating earthquake in Haiti is what you'd expect when you throw nearly 20 newsroom staffers at a story, but The Record isn't going to win any prizes.  

Columnist Mike Kelly really drops the ball, choosing to write about the obvious communication breakdowns rather than criticizing the relief effort or the world's past treatment of the impoverished Caribbean nation (see earlier post, "More drivel from Mike Kelly"). But one of the most useful pieces comes from another columnist, Harvy Lipman, who advises readers to send only cash to a reliable agency if they want to help.

The paper doesn't really answer in any detail the questions on everyone's mind: In the absence of a functioning government in Haiti, when are the search-and-rescue teams, water, medicine and other aid promised by the U.S. and others going to arrive? When will the teams be at work side-by-side with ordinary Haitians to rescue those still alive, care for the injured and bury the dead? The quake hit Tuesday, so why is it taking so long?

Fourteen reporters contributed to the local reaction story, but they buried the best quote I saw in all the coverage: "It's a country that can't get a break." Why Kelly didn't pick this up and run with it is a real puzzle.Where was his assignment editor -- with his head up you know where?

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Meanwhile, the Local section isn't any better today than it is on a day when municipal reporters aren't  pulled off their beats to tackle an international story. There are two garbage-collection stories -- one on the front of the section, one inside -- including the tale about 300 lazy families protesting an Allendale plan to cut expenses by mandating curbside pickup.

As usual, no Hackensack or Englewood stories appear today, but Teaneck reporter Joe Ax's byline shows up for the first time since Dec. 17. Even if you assume Ax was on vacation, why do the lazy, incompetent editors just ignore one of the most important towns in Bergen County?