NFL Super Bowl XLVIII took place Sunday at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and Jets, but the spotlight on New Jersey has shown on more than just the East Rutherford stadium. Gov Chris Christie, 2016 republican presidential hopeful, and his administration are under investigation for a bridge closure Sept. 9-12, 2013.

The George Washington Bridge (GWB), which transcends the Hudson from New Jersey to Manhattan, allows about 50 million people into New York in 2012, according to the New Jersey and New York Port Authority, reportedly making it the world’s busiest bridge.

Significant traffic delays were caused when two of three toll lanes at a Fort Lee entrance to the upper level of the GWB in September, without any warning to officials. Jams delayed emergency vehicles travel and response to four calls, one of which was for a 91-year-old woman, who was pronounced dead shortly thereafter. It is important to note, the woman’s daughter did not attribute her death to the GWB closure.

This all comes as a surprise to me. I live about one-hour from the bridge, and I just recently heard about the bridge closure. If you have ever seen ABC’s “Scandal”, I am sure you believe the government covers up plenty.

The media watchdogs, still in a post-Sandy uproar over issues like getting towns aid and the Christie “Stronger than the Storm” commercial controversy, neglected to effectively cover the GWB scandal. Yet, when information like Christie’s affiliation to the incident is leaked, the media jump on it.

It is an important topic. A very possible Republican presidential candidate appears to have had knowledge about the lane closures before the incident. Now, a lawyer says that Christie’s statements do not match up, according to the Associated Press. These are not qualities the citizens of the United States need in a leader.

Important as coverage of this matter is for the U.S., how can we focus so much now on Christie’s knowing or unknowing, when in September, news about the bridge closure barely reached my town, only 75 miles away?

I think the media could use some work, like prioritizing news about major traffic issues. If the closure was more widely publicized in the news, more questions could have been asked sooner. The issue of the Christie administration might have been brought to light in the public quicker.

Though The Wall Street Journal christie&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304373104579109860563887326.html?KEYWORDS=chris chr did break a story on Oct.1 about Christie’s possible involvement, the story did not break in full until Jan. 8.

As more is revealed, articles from every news source will be posted within minutes of each other and updated hourly from there on out. Instead of following each moment of the Christie scandal, this journalist resolves to look for news that deserves more publicity and priority.  

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