July 1, 2008 - 10:19pm
Torricelli on The (Bergen) Record
By Robert TorricelliThe Record announced yesterday that it was closing its Hackensack offices and "reinventing"itself. It was actually announcing its own death without the benefit of the Obit page.
It reminded me of the death of an aging uncle. You felt badly because of the loss but you remembered all of the times that he kicked the dog and yelled at the kids.
It's a death march that started long ago. A generation ago, the Record was the Bible for suburban living in Bergen County. Every local football game, road closing and store opening filled its pages. It was "A Friend of the People it Serves". Somewhere it all fell apart.
It's easy to dismiss its death as an evitable result of changes in technology. The Internet will eventually destroy most newspapers but the looming death of the Record is still ahead of its time. Bergen County has among the best demographics in the United States. Incomes are high, educational levels are good and there's a real sense of local community. Available advertising from retailers may be the best in the nation.
It has everything that the Ledger, Inquirer and a dozen other papers lack. They'll survive another decade or two while the Record will be gone in a matter of a few years. Why?
One thing that Americans have never been is mean. Somewhere the Record stopped becoming a mirror of the happy suburban life and it became mean. Parents no longer came home to the evening paper and read about community life but were exposed to an endless barrage of columns, editorials and news articles that exposed everyone as greedy, corrupt, or inept.
It could have been different. The Record was once a training ground for the New York Times and The L.A. Times. Being a Record alumnus was a calling card in journalism. Candidates and businessmen lobbied for an audience with editors to influence their editorials. During the last two decades things began to change.News stories that once commanded state wide respect become predictable. Reporting on community needs and interests didn't have the excitement of reporting endless scandals. Community leaders began to feel alienated and in recent years the scandal scarred pages were more likely to evoke laughter than respect. I don't know why it all went so wrong. A lot of little people got frustrated in dead end jobs and their anger became the tone of the newspaper itself. A loss of credibility became a lack of readership. Declining sales couldn't be hidden from advertisers for long.The death of that mean old uncle might bring a tear or two. I won't be shedding any tears for the Record. Bergen County will be a better place without it but I regret what it did to itself. It didn't have to be.
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Sad.
You don't realize just how bitter Mr. Torriceli is about the demise of his political career until you read this latest diatribe.
Yeah, newspapers are being replaced by the Internet and The Record has a great site in NorthJersey.com, but to suggest Bergen County stopped reading newspapers because they covered corruption in Bergen County borders on the paranoid.
The Record's woes are institutional in nature. Like every other newspaper, classified ads no longer pay the bills and real estate has migrated to the web along with auto and other previous print-centric advertising.
What's ironic is that The Record as a print version is dying a death of economic necessity. The political death of Robert Torricelli was self-inflicted with no one to blame.
When will Bob realize that simple reality?
Vote Column - All the way!
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's a duck
Robert Torricelli has clearly gone over the edge. His personal bitterness and inability to face up to his own reality is evident.
He was corrupt. The Record newspaper covered his corruption. His career fell apart. All facts. All true.
Mr. Torricelli, get over it.
The Record is suffering due to the economic realities of the newspaper business nationwide caused in many ways by the success of the internet. People have changed their news reading habits and the newspaper industry of yesterday is evolving, albeit painfully, into a new 21st century model.
One thing the Record has done very well in recent years is turn from reporting primarily on the delusionary dribble contained in a mediocre Ozzie and Harriet suburban utopia to the reality of corruption around us. The evidence of corruption picked up steam in recent years when the press stopped ignoring it.
When newspapers like The Record started paying attention to the underside of the careers of the Torricellis, the McGreeveys, the Ferrieros,et al., the residents of New Jersey became all too aware of the corrupt environment surrounding us.
The Record deserves kudos for every article it writes exposing the greed of corrupt politicians fueled by powerful lawyers and engineers looking for the fast buck at the expense of the public.
Just think. If Mr. Torricelli didn't prove to be such a shady snake-in-the-grass, there wouldn't have been a need to write any negative articles about him.
Torricelli kicking a great institution like The Record around shows what a grumpy old bitter man he has become.
On The Waterfront since 1954
Enough
is enough. Sour grapes from one of the many corrupt politicians the Record told the sorry truth about.....
On The Record
The Courier-Post moved out of Camden in the 1960's. It seems to be doing well enough.
Today, the record continues to report news others, like the Ledger and the Gannett papers, don;t. It remains an indispensable resource for those of us who need our New Jersey news right, deep, and current.
Who's watching the store?
Newspapers used to report, investigate, and report again. The editorial page was the opinion page. Advertisement was PR for private companies. Somehow newspapers forgot what was newsworthy. Somehow headline writers became "real" reporters. Somehow "the paper" became a five minute glance instead of a 40 minute read. Reporters used to "do their homework" and understand the history and chronology of their topic.(5 W's) The sad part of the demise of any newspaper is "one good print reporter is worth 20 bloggers." Case closed.
While I agree
That the Record is passed its prime...THis does kinda make you look bitter Torch. The fact is any good newspaper would report on corruption and scandle. Newspapers in general are a dying medium, the record is no different. Furthermore, I'm not sure that your assesment that good-community oriented news would sell papers...a) people just dont buy papers like they used to b) bad news has always sold more than good news. It would be interesting if Wally could piece together what the Record did during Torch's tenure.
Jeez...
I can't even remember the last time I pissed away pocket change on a New Jersey newspaper! The only papers worth a damn anymore are the Post and the News.
As always, Torch tries to disguise his bitterness and resentment as a legitimate op-ed.
You fail again, Torch.
Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.- Winston Churchill
Mean, mean, mean
"One thing that Americans have never been is mean. Somewhere the Record stopped becoming a mirror of the happy suburban life and it became mean."
Reminds me of, "When did we become such an unforgiving people?"
Familiar Torch lament
When did the Record become such an unforgiving newspaper?
Bergen Record
It is funny to see both Torricelli and the Kushner family feigning sincere lament over their perceived demise of the Bergen Record.
Never mind that it is so totally wishful thinking on the part of both, but it is downright hilarious to see both Torricelli and the Kushner family assert that the Bergen Record is going to go out of business because its readership objects to the newspapers coverage of public corruption.
If you believe what they are writing here, you would have to believe that the masses are marching in the street in Hackensack, demanding ignorance, and the right not to know!
Eric Gallagher
www.redyankeepress.com
Pathetic
It's time to ask Mr. Torricelli, the disgraced politician, to call it a day and stop spewing his self-serving BS via his blog. Thought provoking it's not.
Who let the Torch out?
I thought the Torch is locked up on the reservation?
not as innocent as u'd think
The Record has, repeat has been a wonderful insight to the happenings in BC, BUT the reporters have gone down hill regarding ethical and proffessional responsability. How they get their stories and what length they go to is another story in itself. It should all come out soon enough. GOOD LUCK with that Mr. Borg
Torricelli's problems with The Record
One would wonder why a former MOC (both House & Senate) would try to spin the restructuring of a newspaper's internal affairs as some reason to gloat.
Maybe one of the reasons why Torricelli despises The Record is when Mr. Torricelli assailed the integrity of Matthew Seymour, a person he nominated for the US Military Academy!
Torricelli told The Record the following:
"The fact is, Mr. Seymour met none of the requirements of West Point, and by telling a misleading version of events, he acted dishonorably and has shown he lacks the character to be a cadet."
According to The Record in stories reported by John Mooney, Torricelli apparently told Seymour he had been nominated, but the so called nomination was never filled because Torricelli had already nominated his allowed amount of nominees!
Not only did West Point confirm Mr. Seymour's version of what took place, West notified Torricelli NOT to nominate any further candidates.
Yep, I can see why Mr. Torricelli wants The Record to stick to football scores and road closings!
Vote Column - All the way!
This post makes me sick.
This post makes me sick. Newspapers across the country are facing hard times, and for Torch to lay the blame against the meanies reporting on corruption is just vomit inducing.
It's just the type of drivel that I expect from a bitter old corrupt politician trying to repair his frayed image to those he betrayed while in office.
I agree with all the posts here. I can see why Torch is upset with the Record and would have rather them stick to football games and store openings.
Bob Torricelli is Delusional On This One...
He's got it backwards.
The Record needs to increase the level and the quality of it's journalism. Not dumb it down to some 50's level of "Ozzie and Harriet" phantasy.
Bob really should have someone objective clear his writing before it gets posted here. The bits about the Record being "mean" (because it covered too much corruption) would have been embarrassing to him had he realized how nakededly delusional and self serving those comments were.
He still doesn't get it.
For a good discussion of The Record's transition and the general topic of Journalism/reporting check this out.
http://www.bluejersey.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8321
From Frederick Douglass
The Record will be around long after Torricelli is forgotten
I have been proud to be a high school sports writer for the Record since 1971 while building my legal career. The Record will long survive while a bitter and disgraced politician who violated the public trust is reduced to a footnote.
The change in the Record from newsprint dominated to internet dominated is a sign of the change in the world, a change Torricelli never got as he was disgracing his party and his office.
Our mission remains clear at the Record, to serve our community and one of the proudest moments I had as a member of the Record staff is when we helped chase this criminal from office even though as a sports writer I had nothing to do with it.
The old building on River Street will close but the Record will long survive.
Other than on here where apparently the politically interested are well aware of his reputation and record anyone you know even mention Torricelli in the past three years?
I thought so.
Torch does have a point
Closing the Hackensack office is one way of detaching from your community. Dropping "Bergen" from the name is another. Whether inevitable or not, we're losing another part of what binds us. I grew up in Bergen County when the Record had paperboy delivery. I had my own route for a year and was proud of the earnings I made. Delivery by paper boy is now a thing of the past. I'd also go to the local pizzeria and see reprints from the Record of drawings of local high school athletes. Also a thing of the past. Newspapers (including the Record) now believe they have to fight for readership by focusing on articles on corruption or sex scandals. Depressing.
The Record's Name
The Record dropped Bergen from its official name probably more than 25 years ago. The Corporation became North Jersey Media Group more than 10 years ago. The West Paterson office has been open more than 20 years. The Hackensack land is worth mucho millions and the presses moved to Rockaway more than 15 years ago. I haven't written a story in the building since about 1991. We still do drawings of local high school athletes every week during the scholastic season. Corruption articles have been in the Record since about 1940 or so.
When was the last time you read the paper, dcdem -- 1960?
Touchy, touchy.
I don't know why Record staff writers are responding to this obvious "baiting" by The Torch.
You actually make his case by responding.
Doblin made a terrible error in judgment responding to an obscure online posting in a print medium versus the medium in which the charges were made. All Doblin did was drive traffic to this homepage!
Torricelli's best punishment is to ignore him. To give a forum and respond to his accusations is just dumb. There were plenty of people to respond in-kind and prove the idiocy of this seemingly Nixon "wanna-be."
Vote Column - All the way!
I responded here
Because there are misconceptions about the Record closing its Hackensack office.
We are going nowhere (except to our West Paterson office).
I can't answer for Al Doblin.
"And now we know...The rest of the story"
At least we know Torrecelli wrote this himself. I'm pretty sure he had someone else write some of the previous columns. What a joke this guy is. I was in the military when Torch was fired up in Bergen county so I didn't get to know him too well. I did know him well enough to vote for Bret Schundler though. I know, Schundler never ran against Torricelli but he was the same party animal as McGreevy. I hope Schundler can get back in the saddle. He is a good man (gender neutral), and that is really all we can ask of our elected reps. A bar too high for some, it would seem.
Mean spirited
Bob Torrecelli is certainly right when he says the Bergen Record turned mean. Mike Kelly performed an act of journalistic necrophilia when he attacked a dead Paterson police officer after the cop was shot and killed by one of his tenents. Sure, the officer was wrong for going to deal with the tenent while in uniform, but the renter knew his landlord was a cop in or out of uniform. Kelly called the dead officer a "thug" and other sundry things--before the funeral and before the facts were out. Lovely sense of decency.
I don't get it
Why does Torricelli subject himself to this type of abuse on a monthly basis -- does he miss the limelight that much?
Doblin the fool
Why is Doblin making Torricelli's case?
Doblin is the kind of journalistic big mouth no one listens too because he has nothing to say!
An ultra-left wing fanatic who makes Jon Corzine look like Jesse Helms, his bias is so institutional and obvious that he does The Record brand a severe disservice for his immature rantings!
Vote Column - All the way!
Did Torricelli not get the memo?
What the heck is this hack rambling about?
The memo, from Editor and Publisher:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
"We are in the midst of great change. Classified advertising revenues are falling fast. Some of it is due to the economy. But much of it is secular. Ads won't return to the print newspapers even when the economy gets better.
"Getting this revenue back on the web dollar for dollar won't happen. We are competing against non-news site for eyeballs, hence, ad dollars. Our competition is not merely other newspaper sites. Even for the ads we get, the web rates are much lower than those of print ads.
"We must reinvent ourselves.
"One such way is to lower our overhead costs. These are expenses that don't directly affect our products. Reporters directly affect the product; our building does not.
"Vacating Hackensack will save the company $2.4 million a year. This number is for electricity, cleaning crews, and other items that will go away upon
vacancy. When we actually sell the land, additional money will be saved like, but not limited to, property taxes.
"So, we will be vacating Hackensack as soon as logistically possible. Some of Record editorial will be moving to Garret Mountain, but I really view this change as "moving out to the field". The move is not from one big office to another. The move is from one big office to the field. It is not that The Record has left Hackensack; we are now all over the market. (I am planning a marketing campaign to promote this. I envision the "MOJOS" like a swarm of bees landing in different towns.)
"We have and will continue to have more mobile journalists. They will share desks as they are rarely in the office. The office/work concept is called "hoteling". Employees actually reserve desk time to cut down on the number of desks and square footage needed.
"Bob Klapisch and Ian O'Connor Æ and there may be others Æ don't even have desks here so this effort need not be limited to "MOJOS". We seek more and more of this. If you are interested in this idea even if you are not a "MOJO", please let Doug Clancy know.
"Second, we are going to look at shift work closely. If two people do not overlap, they might be able to share a desk. We have executives who share offices in Garret Mountain.
"Third, we plan on using our community newspaper remote offices for any NJMG purpose. We have started this, but we will do more. We have offices in the following locations:
"Ridgewood, Westwood, Cresskill, Rutherford, Clifton, Rockaway, Kinnelon, and Fair Lawn.
"Also, we have offices out of The Record's circulation area Æ Millburn, Montclair and Nutley but they may be near your home.
"We are analyzing the capacity of these locations right now.
"If you are interested in working in one of these offices (including the Essex locations), please let Doug Clancy know.
"Finally, see [Assistant Managing Editor] Doug Clancy if you are interested in working from home, even just for some of the days of your schedule (he will need the specifics).
"As for the timing, there are too many open items for me to give you a precise date. There are too many items still outstanding. I don't want it to be past January, 09.
"I encourage you to talk to people in Advertising. Overall, they have seen the move to GMP as a positive change. The builder is newer. There is more natural light. Views are nice. The furniture is newer.
"While we face many challenges, innovative ideas will lead us through it. Let's abandon the traditional work/office environment model and innovate.
"Thx."
Reminds me
Reminds me of the death of someone's political career. You feekl badly for all of the voters who entrusted him with the power to do good for the State and assist those in need, but you remember all of the times the politician decided to hell with the voters in order to line his own pockets - LITERALLY!!!! You are a hypocrite Bob. Go back to crashing into vehicles and blaming it on a woman.
ooops!
"It has everything that the Ledger, Inquirer and a dozen other papers lack. They'll survive another decade or two while the Record will be gone in a matter of a few years. Why?" Considering the Ledger is going down the tubes, I guess its because they're mean too.