Frank Scandale

Editor

Frank Scandale has been editor of The Record since January 2001. Under his guidance, the paper has earned The New Jersey Press Association’s General Excellence Award for best newspaper in the state, 7 of the last 9 years. He led The Record’s award-winning coverage of the September 11 attacks, which included the photo by Thomas Franklin of firemen raising the flag in front of the World Trade Center rubble.

Scandale came to The Record from The Denver Post, where he served as assistant managing editor for news. He was previously the city editor for Daily Journal in Elizabeth, NJ and also held editorial positions at Reuters News. He is a 1979 graduate of Glassboro State College.

[NJ 0201] - Part 1: Intro and Contribution (7:38)

Frank Scandale, V.P. & editor, The (Bergen) Record, wanted to be a novelist until he answered an ad for “writer’s wanted” at The Daily Journal in Elizabeth, N.J. He accepted a $10,000-a-year job offer and got, as a colleague told him, “a front-row ticket to life.”

[NJ 0202] - Part 2: Ethics & Content (6:01)

Frank Scandale, V.P. & editor, The (Bergen) Record, says the Record uses the SPJ Code of Ethics. Scandale says, as the editor, he makes the calls about what goes into the newspaper and what does not. “I think I’m paid more for my judgment than anything else at this point,” says Scandale.

[NJ 0203] - Part 3: Strategic Changes (7:30)

Frank Scandale, V.P. & editor, The (Bergen) Record, says two big changes in recent years at his newspaper were the establishment of a web desk and the creation of multi-media editor position. Scandale says The Record covers the news, 18/7, with fulltime staff, and he expects the newsroom will be staffed fulltime, 24/7, before too long.

[NJ 0204] - Part 4: Adaptation & the Future (5:14)

Frank Scandale, V.P. & editor, The (Bergen) Record, says despite all the innovations of the digital age, “at the heart -- journalism is the same … you have to gather the information and you have to verify it.” What’s new is that newspaper reporters now have to “decide how to distribute it.” For Scandale, the bottom line is that delivering the news “is more exciting that ever.”

[NJ 0205] - Part 5: Prospects & Preparation (3:57)

Frank Scandale, V.P. & editor, The (Bergen) Record, says there are still many opportunities in journalism and that students can even start their own news-oriented websites to launch their careers.