RIP Tim Russert!

[N_D_Radioguy]

I am one that admired Russert for his work, is it just me, or is the incessent fawning over him on all news channels just a little, um, uncomfortable to watch? My condolences go out to his family, but come on. Anytime anything happens to anyone in the media, they act as if the world has come to a stop.

I might call it incessant fawning if it were someone else, but Russert was that respected among his peers. The media business has rarely seen someone so universally liked and admired. Then again, we rarely experience someone the caliber of Tim Russert, both as a broadcast journalist and as a man.

He will be missed.

 

[N_D_Radioguy]

Tim Russert was probably, week after week, the
best-prepared interviewer on Sunday mornings.

Not probably... definitely.

Not just Sunday... every day of the week.

It struck me from time to time that Russert would have been brilliant at just about anything he wanted to try within media. He could have easily down one of the late-night shows and been spectacular. Yet his love of politics genuinely radiated through him every moment of "Meet the Press." He never looked as if he was faking it, going through the motions or even having a bad day.

Count one more delegate at the Angels Convention.

 

[LKellerIII]

Oldschooltv said it better than I could, so I won't attempt to add to it - except to say that I had become a huge fan of Russert in the last few years. Until about 2001 or so, I don't think I'd seen Meet the Press since my father watched Lawrence Spivak in the 60s. I had started watching This Week with David Brinkley in the late 80s, then stayed for the Sam Donaldson/Cokie Roberts period after Brinkley retired. But I couldn't get into the Stephanpoulous era, and started watching Russert on MTP. I remember wanting to kick myself for not making the switch sooner.

With politicians, he was a tough and insightful interviewer. Nobody could challenge them and get them to cut the BS, and get to the heart of the matter like Tim Russert. But he was always unfailingly polite and respectful - which I especially appreciated in a time increasingly dominated by either dumbed-down interview programs (Larry King, etc.) and equally dumbed-down and hostile talk hosts like O'Reilly.

It's a real loss.

 

[Jul]

I don't think Entertainment Tonight mentioned him ... but I imagine their show was taped before the announcement.

ET did mention his death on the show tonight. BTW Tim Russert's Physician Dr, Michael Newman talks about what happened to Tim at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCUkJzQurmc

 

[apolasky]

Tim Russert Tribute
Light a Memorial candle!
http://www.TimRussertTribute.com

 

[Tibbs4]

I am one that admired Russert for his work, is it just me, or is the incessent fawning over him on all news channels just a little, um, uncomfortable to watch? My condolences go out to his family, but come on. Anytime anything happens to anyone in the media, they act as if the world has come to a stop.

I might call it incessant fawning if it were someone else, but Russert was that respected among his peers. The media business has rarely seen someone so universally liked and admired. Then again, we rarely experience someone the caliber of Tim Russert, both as a broadcast journalist and as a man.

He will be missed.

 

[jsu5381m]

He will be missed. I think the only other person at NBC who could even remotely resemble his expertise and passion is Tom Brokaw. I think Brokaw would be a much better host than Olberman, Scarborough, or that Morning Joe dude.

 

[N_D_Radioguy]

He will be missed. I think the only other person at NBC who could even remotely resemble his expertise and passion is Tom Brokaw. I think Brokaw would be a much better host than Olberman, Scarborough, or that Morning Joe dude.

Morning Joe is Scarborough.

You may be thinking of Dan Abrams.

 

[only1moore]

I'm going to miss him and that dry-erase board.

Sundays is not going to be the same without Tim. He will be deeply missed.

 

[DJ Tony]

Believe it or not, I was actually looking for a story on the first president of SBS Radio and Television, Raul Alarcon Sr. who also died a couple of days back and I saw that Tim Russert had passed away, I was shocked. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat, you couldn't help but admire a guy like him. I never saw his show, but, from what I have read and seen, he was one of the best in the business and I am also glad to see that rival networks united in covering his passing, after all we are all humans, right? May god rest on Mr. Russert's soul and my thoughts and prayers are with his family.

 

[DToTheJ]

I just saw the newsflash on, of all places, the NFL Network...that, of course due to him being an avid Buffalo Bills fan, and having presented an award to Ed and Steve Sabol, founders of NFL Films.

I first heard about Russert's passing yesterday on... WFAN via Mike Francesa! Listeners may recall Russert's frequent appearances on Imus.

 

[SirRoxalot]

And the Loser Is...

First Jim McKay, and now Tim Russert. If anybody wants to know the difference between infotainment and journalism, all they have to do is look at the work of today's crop of "talent", and the work of those two reporters.

Yes, McKay was a sports reporter, but he did it with a style and grace that brought humanity to the often jingoistic Olympic competition. He reminded us that the contestants were human beings. His capabilities as a pure journalist were amply displayed during the Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes in 1972. He made the shift from sports to news effortlessly because he was a true sports journalist, not a commentator.

Tim Russert was actually a Democratic operative under Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Mario Cuomo before going to NBC. Liberals saw him as right-leaning, and conservatives saw him as left-leaning - meaning that his personal feelings were left at the door, and he was as down the middle with his interview subjects as anybody I ever saw. He was a tough questioner, but without rancor. He was able to cut to the core of the discussion while keeping the discourse civil. Ideas were discussed, not personalities.

We all are poorer for the passing of those two gentlemen. I don't see their equal anywhere in TV today.

 

[Jul]

AP and other media outlets got this part of their stories on Russert's death wrong. According to many news articles: NBC interrupted its regular programming with news of Russert's death and continued for several hours of coverage without commercial break. Yes its true that the NBC television network broke into live second round coverage of the US open golf event to announce the news of Russert's death via an NBC NEWS special report anchored by Tom Brokaw. The NBC news special report announcing Russert's death also aired on CNBC and MSNBC. The live coverage of Russert's death continued on MSNBC for the rest of the afternoon and into the night after the NBC special report had ended, not on NBC as it was reported by several news articles. The NBC TV network went back to the US Open golf coverage after the 3 minute plus special report by Brokaw had ended. NBC devoted its entire "nightly news" broadcast to Russert and the NBC TV network aired a one our special on Russert that was hosted by Tom Brokaw yesterday. I hope this will clear up any confusion.

 

[Tim L]

AP and other media outlets got this part of their stories on Russert's death wrong. According to many news articles: NBC interrupted its regular programming with news of Russert's death and continued for several hours of coverage without commercial break. Yes its true that the NBC television network broke into live second round coverage of the US open golf event to announce the news of Russert's death via an NBC NEWS special report anchored by Tom Brokaw. The NBC news special report announcing Russert's death also aired on CNBC and MSNBC. The live coverage of Russert's death continued on MSNBC for the rest of the afternoon and into the night after the NBC special report had ended, not on NBC as it was reported by several news articles. The NBC TV network went back to the US Open golf coverage after the 3 minute plus special report by Brokaw had ended. NBC devoted its entire "nightly news" broadcast to Russert and the NBC TV network aired a one our special on Russert that was hosted by Tom Brokaw yesterday. I hope this will clear up any confusion.

No it doesnt Julius..Furthermore, "this part" of the story doersnt matter at all right now..

 

[PTBoardOp94]

Does NBC typically use The Mission Part IV for its special reports? Mission Part IV is the Meet the Press theme, and I notice that it was used to open the Tom Brokaw special report on NBC. I thought the last NBC special report I watched (some time ago) used the Nightly News theme.

 

[arnoldevns]

I was shocked and saddened to hear that Russert had died.

I will also point out two things:

1. Russert did not have a degree in journalism. He was a lawyer who wound up working for NBC after he worked for Sen. Moynihan and Gov. Cuomo. As I read his bio, he helped negotiate deals to allow NBC to report from various places around the world and with various world leaders. His ability to talk to these people probably led to his transition to commentator. He is being hailed as a journalist, but I look at him as more of a commentator and talk show host. His interviewing skills were fantastic. I guess in that sense, he was a journalist. In fact if you want to compare his background it was somewhat similar to Catherine Crier - except that she was a judge, not just a lawyer. Many of the same people praising Russert today have routinely criticized Crier because of her lack of a journalism degree. I find that quite hypocritical.

2. NBC seemed to recognize that Russert was really more of a commentater. NBC never had Russert fill in as an anchor on the Nightly News. He didn't go out and file reports as a reporter. He was there to interview guests and give his analysis of the situation. That's the role of a commentater, not a journalist. The two jobs have some similarities, but the key difference is the ability to give your opinion on the air. Russert did that well.

I would hope that other networks would look at the way NBC utilized Russert and learn from it.

 

[Rusty Muck]

Does NBC typically use The Mission Part IV for its special reports? Mission Part IV is the Meet the Press theme, and I notice that it was used to open the Tom Brokaw special report on NBC. I thought the last NBC special report I watched (some time ago) used the Nightly News theme.

That would be my general assumption, I remember hearing Mission Part IV being used for NBC's Special Report of the Virginia Tech shooting last year. Note that they also used the "G-E-C" chimes as a direct lead-in to Mission Part IV.

Regardless, it was a sad coincidence.

-nate81 aka Myron-

 

[LKellerIII]

"In fact if you want to compare his background it was somewhat similar to Catherine Crier - except that she was a judge, not just a lawyer. Many of the same people praising Russert today have routinely criticized Crier because of her lack of a journalism degree. I find that quite hypocritical."

I don't know if it's hypocritical, but it's a stupid attitude, and dare I say - a bit elitist. A lot of very distinguished men and women in the media got into news through a side door, so to speak....often from the entertainment end of radio and TV. I'm sure if you checked the background of many TV news people, you would discover many without degrees in journalism.

Dave McElhatton, the SF Bay Area's most beloved veteran anchorman (now retired) got his BA in Broadcasting in the early 50s, and became a popular radio morning drive time disc jockey on KCBS radio. He stayed with the station when it switched to an all news format in the late 60s - becoming the morning news anchor. From there, he made the switch to local TV news. Was he a "journalist?" You could argue that he wasn't, but it didn't matter.

That kind of story is common in radio and TV, on both the local and network levels.

 

[oldschooltv]

Does NBC typically use The Mission Part IV for its special reports? Mission Part IV is the Meet the Press theme, and I notice that it was used to open the Tom Brokaw special report on NBC. I thought the last NBC special report I watched (some time ago) used the Nightly News theme.

As someone else mentioned, these questions may seem irrelevant at the moment. So I say this with all due respect and dignity for Tim Russert.

Last I saw, Mission Part IV was still used for NBC special reports.

However, you're also right. All winter and spring, they've been using an altered version of the Nightly News theme (with an election kind of sound/twist) while covering the Presidential Primaries. NBC would always cut in with this theme for election coverage. But I think this was just an exception - for election related breaking news only.

Hope this helps.