Did you catch the glam shot of Carla Katz in the Ledger last Saturday ("Corzine's ex-love wants union bigs to stay out of suit")?   Posed on a staircase in a smart, dark suit-dress with her pearly whites stretching ear to ear for the camera, it looked more like a pic to accompany a business section story about a confident exec reaching another rung up the ladder. Of course it was just another episode in the Jon and Carla soap opera.

Ethics and accountability seem to be the hot topics for the week.

In the spirit of things, I took a look at some of the recent ethics coverage by the NJ print media.

Not surprisingly, Karcher versus Beck got a fair share of ink.  In general, State Senator Ellen Karcher led the stories with the signing of her four-bill package to clean up government.  The centerpiece of the reforms is a measure banning dual office holding by legislators – future legislators, that is. 

The oft repeated quote of political strategist James Carville reminds us that the first Clinton presidential campaign was decided on the issues – in that year, it was the economy.

So why haven’t we been reading more about the issues?

At this stage in the campaign, it’s understandable that the horse race of who’s ahead among the candidates fills the headlines.

It’s a bit tricky offering commentary on a newspaper’s editorial. After all, editorials express the “views” of the media outlet’s editors and publishers. But even opinion pieces should strive for consistency.

Ok, I admit polling stories are really not the stuff that constitutes basic Journalism101 – yet survey stories are a dime a dozen.

By that measurement you would think reporters are skilled in the fine print of survey research methodology. Unfortunately, most are not, and many rely on the sponsors of these surveys for analysis and interpretation.

Has nothing been learned from the racial and sexual verbal attacks launched over the airwaves last spring at the Rutgers women’s basketball team?

Within the last two weeks, CBS Radio announced that Craig Carton, former co-host of “The Jersey Guys” on 101.5 would be sharing the reins of a new sports-focused program to air in the slot previously filled by Don Imus. The show premiered today.

If the leak’s under the sink, it’s a pretty easy call. When it’s in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey, it’s another matter.

This week’s coverage of the ongoing federal probe of US Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) underscores the point.

“According to sources with knowledge of the meeting,” Menendez’s attorneys met with prosecutors in June to request a letter exonerating the Senator as first reported in the Star Ledger. Now it’s very possible – even highly likely -- that the Menendez camp was the anonymous source.

When is a public official’s significant other (to whom they are not related by marriage), considered their “companion” rather than their “girlfriend” or “live-in boyfriend”?

Jim McQueeny is many things to many people. Only I'm not so sure the media always portrays him that way. In some cases, they may actually be contributing to the distortion.

Let’s start with his “unabashed fan” admiration for Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) that he touted in his Star-Ledger op-ed on Tuesday. In his own words, McQueeny told the readers he “served in the 1980s as his spokesman and state chief of staff and also regularly continuing to break bread with him ever since.” But the relationship is really much deeper than that.

Jim McQueeny is many things to many people. Only I'm not so sure the media always portrays him that way. In some cases, they may actually be contributing to the distortion.

Let’s start with his “unabashed fan” admiration for Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) that he touted in his Star-Ledger op-ed on Tuesday. In his own words, McQueeny told the readers he “served in the 1980s as his spokesman and state chief of staff and also regularly continuing to break bread with him ever since.” But the relationship is really much deeper than that.

Over the years, the Star-Ledger has sourced McQueeny as “a longtime Lautenberg adviser” and “longtime friend”. In 2002, the Ledger and The Record both reported on McQueeny’s high profile role in Lautenberg’s campaign inner circle. No one knows for sure what role he’ll be play during the current election cycle.

Whether or not you believe the Ledger adequately disclosed the Lautenberg-McQueeny relationship at the end of the op-ed piece, I for one think McQueeny disclosed himself.

That said, let’s move on to News12 New Jersey.

McQueeny calls himself a ”television political analyst” for the station. Well he’s certainly qualified for the job. That’s not the problem.

To casual viewers, McQueeny likely appears as a full-time newscaster, particularly when he has served as a moderator for partisan political debates. But unlike other news analysts, he pays the mortgage working for clients actively wheeling and dealing in Jersey politics.