In the movie "Becket," which is probably the best of all "buddy movies," Peter O'Toole as King Henry II, fed up with the fact his old buddy, Thomas Becket, is taking being Archbishop of Canterbury really seriously, says, while surrounded by his lords, "will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?"
That's sort of how I visualize Bridgegate. I'm sure Gov. Chris Christie didn't ORDER his staff to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge, but he probably made it known he wasn't happy with the mayor of Fort Lee. He isn't exactly a shrinking violet.
And, as for the name, I still prefer Christastrophe.
There are no fewer than four investigations going on right now, although one is by the governor's office, so I imagine a grain of salt is needed for that, so we may actually find out what happened.
Whether it is Bridgegate or Christastrophe, Shawn Boberg of The Record gave an overview to the NJPro Chapter of SPJ and guests last Sunday at the Montclair Public Library. This is becoming an NJPro tradition, the big November panel. The veteran journalists on this panel included Matt Katz of the famous Christie comment about wearing orange and putting out cones. The panel was augmented by Jennifer Borg, counsel to The Record.
The overall topic of the forum was "why do some stories stick?" It does seems as though there are stories that will never die, no matter how hard the people involved are trying to kill them. And some stories that appear really strong at first just vaporize.
I don't think we solved all the problems this brings out, but we sure did open up a discussion which is sometimes the most important thing.
Jennifer Borg reminded us we are accountable for presenting the truth, for digging to the bottom.
The public relies on reporters. We have a great responsilbity.
And that's why we have these forums.
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