Well if you have read or viewed some of the recent press reports, you might be a bit confused.

Let’s start with the broadcast coverage on the day the death penalty option was abolished in the state: CBS affiliate (Philadelphia KYW-TV) gave its viewers the impression that the newly signed law ending the death penalty also granted the six men on death row a reprieve.

Actually, it was the Governor who commuted their sentences a day earlier.

Who says newspapers are a meaningless medium.

Hands down, the dailies provided the best coverage of the Gov's State of the State address - - in ink and bytes.

Aside from NJN's live coverage and post-speech analysis, reporting by broadcast outlets amounted to little more than drive-by journalism.  Case in point: Philly's ABC  TV  affiliate, WPVI, led their broadcast with  the open house hosted by the city's newly - installed Philadelphia mayor (okay), followed by team coverage of the unseasonably warm spring-like weather.  N J's stormy fiscal forecast - the worst in the nation - got less airtime than the local weather report.

The Burlington County Times’ farewell to retiring State Senator Martha Bark wasn’t entirely fond.

Fair enough.

BCT has been consistently thorough in its coverage of Sen. Bark’s pension-padding shenanigans with the Burlington County Bridge Commission and the county vo-tech school system. No special treatment here for the county’s favorite son – er, daughter.

The old year isn't the only thing gone by. So too are Jersey editorials and op-eds from your Sunday New York Times.

NYT's "Dear John" note appeared in little box on the Opinion page of the New Jersey and the Region section last Sunday (12/30).

The first sentence informed us editorials and op-ed articles will no longer be published in the section. The last sentence beseeches: "While the section is changing, the editorial department's commitment to presenting issues and opinions of importance to New Jersey remains as strong as ever."

Yeah, right. Ever hear that line before. I don't want to date you anymore. But we can still be friends.

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) hit the "pause" button on WWOR TV’s license renewal application last week thanks to the prompting of US Senator Frank Lautenberg.

The likelihood FCC will pull the plug on My9NY - - it's geographically biased web handle - - is low. But Sen. Lautenberg made the point, and the questions he raised highlight one of New Jersey’s identity problems – 150 channels and nothing on as far as a state-wide commercial TV station. Bad enough we get Lady Liberty's backside, let alone a television station that sits in Secaucus.

Chris Christie could have a second career as a media relations consultant when he leaves the Justice Department.

Consider the timeline of the latest leaking federal probe

Judging by the pre-election coverage, at least two of the state’s congressional races are expected to be among the most hotly contested House seats in the nation.

Perhaps the big story is the Republican’s financial disadvantage given Jim Saxton's and Mike Ferguson’s retirements in 2008. At least that was the focus of the Inquirer’s recent coverage by Cynthia Burton, GOP retirements could prove crucial, (11/21/07). The story highlighted the Republican Party’s electoral loss of a “$2 million head start on campaign fundraising”.

While the Gov was busy covering his asset monetization in “financial restructuring” down the Shore at the League last week, the press seemed resigned to let taxpayers wait until the State of State in January to learn any more about the chief exec's fiscal solvency plans.

Even the brain trust assembled last weekend around NJN’s Reporters Roundtable lamented that reality.

So here’s a novel idea. Stop waiting for the the Front Office to deliver a gift-wrapped copy of the plan and start doing a little digging for the facts.

Quoting a source with an ax to grind or someone with future political ambitions often calls into question the credibility of the source. 

So does quoting a legal expert on a partisan election issue without disclosing the fact that your source also moonlights as a ranking state party official.

Either the Star Ledger’s sources have dried up along with leaks by prosecutors or the editors made a decision to sit on the news about the Union County subpoenas until after Election Day.

Let’s consider what we know.

The Ledger has broken the news about nearly every ongoing federal or state probe and subpoena issued over the last year.