News-Record Endorses Malespina, Raab and Pai for BOE
Does anyone know who writes these editorials? Whose opinion is this? My understanding is the the News-Record is owned by Worrall and only has a very small staff of its own. I'm assuming there isn't a separate editorial-page staff the way there would be at a bigger paper. So who writes these editorials? The central editor at Worrall who oversees all of the company's Essex-county papers? Or is it the News-Record's editor? Just curious. If we're going to give any weight to the paper's opinion, I'd love to know more about where it's coming from.
imonlysleeping said:
Does anyone know who writes these editorials? Whose opinion is this? My understanding is the the News-Record is owned by Worrall and only has a very small staff of its own. I'm assuming there isn't a separate editorial-page staff the way there would be at a bigger paper. So who writes these editorials? The central editor at Worrall who oversees all of the company's Essex-county papers? Or is it the News-Record's editor? Just curious. If we're going to give any weight to the paper's opinion, I'd love to know more about where it's coming from.
My understanding is that the endorsements are written by the local reporter (Yael Katzwer) and the Essex County editor (I forget his name), who interview each candidate before making their decision. You are correct that there is no large editorial board as the News Record has a very small staff. So these endorsements are the opinion of just two people, albeit two people who know a lot about the communities, met with each candidate to evaluate them, and are presumably otherwise neutral in the election. I give it some weight, but it won't determine for whom I vote as much as personal interactions with candidates, debates, and the opinions of people whom I know and trust (who are all over the map on this election, fwiw).
Interesting. Google tells me the News Record editor graduated from college three years ago. That's not a knock on their abilities or opinions whatsoever, but it does suggest they don't have a great deal of context or (I assume) any first-hand experience as a parent in the district.
imonlysleeping said:
Interesting. Google tells me the News Record editor graduated from college three years ago. That's not a knock on their abilities or opinions whatsoever, but it does suggest they don't have a great deal of context or (I assume) any first-hand experience as a parent in the district.
There is a more senior guy that serves as some kind of overall editor for all of the Essex County papers, though I still can't remember his name. Nonetheless, I believe that you are correct that the endorsers do not live in our communities and do not and have not had kids go through our school district. I doubt this endorsement will change anyone's mind, but it may solidify their existing choice(s) or cause someone on the fence to sway to one or more of the endorsed candidates.
Another interesting factor will be how many people show up to vote for the Assembly, County, and Maplewood TC races without having a strong feeling on the BOE race but will vote for candidates anyway just because they are there and may recognize a name, have seen a sign, heard something from a friend, etc. Not everyone that goes to their polling place next Tuesday will be going just for the BOE race, but everyone's vote counts equally.
ETA: Steve Proctor is the name of the Regional Editor. Just looked it up. I think he has been around for a while.
Hot off of the presses!