Tim Russert Dies

[Nanners52674]

I heard the news right as i was leaving to go into work. . . When i mentioned it when I got in not a single one of my fellow employees working (all round my age) had any idea who he was. This stunned me more than i could imagine.

I had the pleasure of seeing him one night in a restaurant on Nantucket he was with his family and just seemed like a normal down to earth guy no pretense about him.

Not only is it tragic for his son to have lost him on fathers day weekend but Tim's father "Big Russ" who Tim wrote the book out has outlived his son. . . A tragic thing for a parent. . .

I have no idea what im going to do on election night with out his white board. . .

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by Nanners52674

When i mentioned it when I got in not a single one of my fellow employees working (all round my age) had any idea who he was. This stunned me more than i could imagine.

Well, the the Sunday morning news shows tend to be either of great interest or none at all, depending on the person. Even in broadcast circles that time period was sometimes called "The Sunday Morning Ghetto."

I was surprised that another director at our network, who is in his mid-40's, didn't know who he was -- and my friend had even worked for an NBC affilliate for a while.

I was not suprised that ABC and CBS gave a considerable amount of time on their regular newscasts to Russert's death, but I didn't expect Fox and CNN to basically give their entire evenings over to the story (although a lot of that programming is rebroadcasts from earlier).

I suppose it pays tribute to the man and his reputation and professionalism, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a newsman given the coverage that you would expect for a head of state or high ranking politician.

Also, in passing, I thought that the coverage was pretty well done on all fronts.

[AGDee]

I think if Walter Cronkite had passed away before retirement, he would have received the same type of attention(and still may). I put Tim Russert in the same category as Walter Cronkite. I think he had an incredible amount of integrity and tried very hard to be unbiased in his interviews. He really became more recognizable as a household name during the 2000 election with his white board.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by AGDee

I think if Walter Cronkite had passed away before retirement, he would have received the same type of attention

Cronkite is an excellent example, and I suspect you're right.

There have been other "news stars" who have died and not gotten this kind of coverage, even though they were "main" anchors -- which Russert was not.

Part of this, I suspect, is the the fairly recent tendency for the cable networks to latch on to one big story and (sometimes) cover it to death -- with no pun intended.

Clearly though, the other part is Russert's reputation -- which is deserved.

The tributes from his peers seemed more genuine than the ritual comments often heard, and his "rags to riches" background is certainly the story of the American Dream.

It was fascinating to me that former GE Chairman Jack Welch said on FOX that Russert was the only NBC on air talent who never had an agent. (For those of you who may not know, NBC is owned by GE) He just wanted to be treated fairly and do what he loved to do.

Thankfully, NBC did that -- not always common these days.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

Well, the the Sunday morning news shows tend to be either of great interest or none at all, depending on the person. Even in broadcast circles that time period was sometimes called "The Sunday Morning Ghetto."

I was surprised that another director at our network, who is in his mid-40's, didn't know who he was -- and my friend had even worked for an NBC affilliate for a while.

I was not suprised that ABC and CBS gave a considerable amount of time on their regular newscasts to Russert's death, but I didn't expect Fox and CNN to basically give their entire evenings over to the story (although a lot of that programming is rebroadcasts from earlier).

I suppose it pays tribute to the man and his reputation and professionalism, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a newsman given the coverage that you would expect for a head of state or high ranking politician.

Also, in passing, I thought that the coverage was pretty well done on all fronts.

It actually was also one of the stories on ESPN SportsCenter, and was featured on espn.com. For a non-sports person to get that kind of coverage is a huge deal.

To me, he was the preeminent interviewer of today, the ONLY interviewer who has been able to come across without bias or favoritism. He treated everyone the same, and conducted interviews the way we are all taught during journalism school. You hear about the correct way to do an interview, the correct way to approach a subject, and you think it's impossible to live up to that standard. Then, you'd watch Tim Russert, and you'd see that, with a lot of work and skill, it could be done.

There can sometimes be a barrier between print journalists and TV journalists; he was one of the few who was able to bridge the barrier, and garner respect on both sides of the aisle.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

To me, he was the preeminent interviewer of today, the ONLY interviewer who has been able to come across without bias or favoritism. He treated everyone the same, and conducted interviews the way we are all taught during journalism school.

He supposedly said that when he was chosen as host he was very nervous, and went to the previous host, Lawrence Spivak, for advice.

He was told to learn everything he possibly could about what the guest believed, and then "take the other side."

It will be interesting to see who replaces Russert, and that replacement will undoubtedly be controversial to some, no matter who it is.

Some very early speculation points to NBC White House Correspondent David Gregory -- but who knows.

[Virtual Violet]

No matter your political affiliation, we are all alot poorer for losing out on his frank insight for the rest of this election. I was sooo looking forward to his dry erase board breakdown of the electoral votes. Listening to the eulogies from his collegues, competitors, and politicians, he was universally respected. Sunday mornings won't be the same

[JonoBN41]

Originally Posted by Nanners52674

When i mentioned it when I got in not a single one of my fellow employees working (all round my age) had any idea who he was. This stunned me more than i could imagine.

My tenant and I were discussing health issues this afternoon, so I mentioned Tim Russert dying of a heart attack. "I don't know him," he said, "I'm not from around here." The funny thing is, he didn't work most of this week and has just been watching TV - what, I don't know.

Looks like Luke will be following in his dad's footsteps: Source

Luke Russert, son of the late NBC Washington bureau chief, Tim Russert, will be covering the Democratic and Republican national conventions for NBC News this summer, the network announced today.


Russert, a June graduate of Boston College who grabbed the nation's heart during a week a memorial services following the unexpected death of his 58-yrear-old father, will focus on youth issues during the conventions.

[DeltAlum]

Originally Posted by OTW

Looks like Luke will be following in his dad's footsteps: Source

I'm not real sure how I feel about this. It smacks a little of promotion instead of News value -- but of course I have no idea how they will use him.

Interesting.

[NutBrnHair]

Originally Posted by OTW

Looks like Luke will be following in his dad's footsteps: Source

I enjoyed when Luke Russert was on Larry King talking about the presidential election. I say give him a chance.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

I'm not real sure how I feel about this. It smacks a little of promotion instead of News value -- but of course I have no idea how they will use him.

Interesting.

The thing is (and maybe I'm being a bit too cynical here), but almost anything they do in connection with Russert's death will have a bit of promotion to it. His legacy as a top journalist will forever be linked to NBC, and they're not going to want people to lose sight of that.

At the same time - Luke seems like he has a good handle on things, and has done very well in every media appearance. He's been filling in as "Stat Boy" on "Pardon the Interruption," an ESPN show, and has done a good job. He's a smart guy (Boston College grad) on top of it all, and his name will bring him more access than some other reporters, so I think this will probably work out pretty well.

Slightly off-topic, but can you think of any prominent journalists who are the sons or daughters of other prominent journalists. Other than Chris Wallace on the news side and Jeremy Schaap (on the sports side), I can't think of any.

[DeltAlum]

Two thoughts:

First, regarding Luke Russert, I agree that he handled(s) himself well on camera. However, the rest of the reporters covering the conventions have years of journalistic experience (call it dues paying if you will). I supect that he will be a "face man" pretty much mouthing the words that a producer writes. That doesn't mean that the stories may not be his ideas. No question that he's smart. It will be interesting.

Second, regarding famous offspring, I can think of one other off the top of my head, but the son is not an on air person. Curt Gowdy, Jr. is Executive Producer of SportsNewYork (which is one of our sister networks) and has done production work for a couple of major networks. But he's not a household name by any means.

I'd guess there are a number of cases on local levels which we would never hear about.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

Two thoughts:

First, regarding Luke Russert, I agree that he handled(s) himself well on camera. However, the rest of the reporters covering the conventions have years of journalistic experience (call it dues paying if you will). I supect that he will be a "face man" pretty much mouthing the words that a producer writes. That doesn't mean that the stories may not be his ideas. No question that he's smart. It will be interesting.

Second, regarding famous offspring, I can think of one other off the top of my head, but the son is not an on air person. Curt Gowdy, Jr. is Executive Producer of SportsNewYork (which is one of our sister networks) and has done production work for a couple of major networks. But he's not a household name by any means.

I'd guess there are a number of cases on local levels which we would never hear about.

Fair enough. But, I don't think he'd necessarily be taking air time away from any of the established journalists. I could see them using him as a "voice of the youth" type correspondent, talking to younger voters, or, trying to ask the "younger person" questions of candidates. I would think that his job would have been one that went to an intern, etc. Now, that may stink for the person who would have gotten the job, but I don't think he'll take air time/face time away from any of the established on-air talent.

That's interesting about Gowdy Jr., I didn't know that. Thinking more about it, I'd guess there are more instances where the children of on-air talent takes behind-the-scenes roles.

[AGDee]

Not that the Detroit scene is the big time, but a long time radio personality (Dick Purtan) now has a daughter who's a newscaster (Joann Purtan).