Tim Russert died of a heart attack :(
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dead souls
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scorcho said:
I completely agree with this.
My opinion on Russert is stated much more eloquently by a better writer than myself here: http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=10623
His show always averaged between 4-5 million so he had quite the base of viewers.FlightOfHeaven said:
You sound like a complete jerk there. He was far more than a simple journalist. Have you ever read his book? He was a great man, not a negative bone in his body.dead souls said:
THATS why people are acting in such grief. He isn't some straight laced newscaster. But someone who was always happy and cheery, someone who has shown to be a kind person who LOVED what he did. He called election day coverage better than christmas, and he meant it.
Newcasters deaths don't get the key story on the frontpage of all newspapers. Russerts does.
dead souls
Member
Cheebs said:You sound like a complete jerk there. He was far more than a simple journalist. Have you ever read his book? He was a great man, not a negative bone in his body.
THATS why people are acting in such grief. He isn't some straight laced newscaster. But someone who was always happy and cheery, someone who has shown to be a kind person who LOVED what he did. He called election day coverage better than christmas, and he meant it.
Newcasters deaths don't get the key story on the frontpage of all newspapers. Russerts does.
That's not me writing in the link, that's just a blog I read.
I'm just pointing out the fact that while Tim Russert may have been a good guy, he wasn't a great journalist.
I mean this is the same guy that testified something to the effect of "When I talk to administration sources it's assumed off the record unless they tell me otherwise" at the Scooter Libby trial.
He, like many other beltway "journalists" was too friendly with the people he was supposed to be covering and it compromised his work.
The Lamonster
Member
Meet the Press was going to be really good this week. I was looking forward to it
Corwood Rep
Member
Cheebs said:His show always averaged between 4-5 million so he had quite the base of viewers.
You sound like a complete jerk there. He was far more than a simple journalist. Have you ever read his book? He was a great man, not a negative bone in his body.
THATS why people are acting in such grief. He isn't some straight laced newscaster. But someone who was always happy and cheery, someone who has shown to be a kind person who LOVED what he did. He called election day coverage better than christmas, and he meant it.
Newcasters deaths don't get the key story on the frontpage of all newspapers. Russerts does.
Beautifully put.
I again maintain that if there was anybody in the business who was better at what he did or more importantly better for television journalism as an institution, I can't imagine who it is.
Also, I think it's worth noting that the guy was a big Democrat, but unlike your Matthewses and Olbermanns, you wouldn't have any fucking idea if it weren't for his campaign work experience. TV journalism gave up on the norm of objectivity a long time ago but he actually gave it a solid shot. Hopefully it'll make them take a long look in the mirror.
Let's not forget this charming revelation from the Libby trial, either:dead souls said:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004476986_unavoidruss14.html
Balloon Juice puts it too harshly, but yes, this sums it up. The desire for near canonization (and the refusal to substantively address any criticism of the man) in this thread is highly disturbing.
dead souls
Member
chubigans said:
He's a public figure. It's not comparable to being at a funeral.
Anyone who claims he helped the administration in anyway is just plain clueless. Russert was a devout democrat who was very close with the Kennedy clan. Come on.
Of course his sources are going to be off the record. You actually expect him to reveal everything? You cant be a good journalist without secret sources. If you cant understand that then you don't get journalism. The more off the record sources you have, the better you are as a journalist. You get information that way.
Nixon would never have been found of his crimes if it wasn't for off the record secret sources.
dead souls said:
Of course his sources are going to be off the record. You actually expect him to reveal everything? You cant be a good journalist without secret sources. If you cant understand that then you don't get journalism. The more off the record sources you have, the better you are as a journalist. You get information that way.
Nixon would never have been found of his crimes if it wasn't for off the record secret sources.
Father_Brain
Banned
Cheebs said:
Presuming that anything an important source says is off the record, without it being explicitly placed in that category beforehand by mutual agreement*, is not good journalism. It's just covering for people in power, which is the antithesis of it.
*Which happens to be the standard that the European press continues to use, and they've done a far better job of critically reporting on both Bush and their own leaders than the American press.
Father_Brain said:
It doesnt protect the people in power, it protects the SOURCE. Thats the journalist responsibility. This guy is putting his career and life on the line to give you information. It is your responsibility to ask him if you can publish anything. If he says no, you dont publish. Why? Because if you do there is a good chance you just cost a man and his family everything.
Its called integrity and its something journalists dont have anymore. Europe is the WORST example of gossip journalism.
Edit: The European press publishes every Anti-Bush thing they can come up with. Why? Not because its true or important (though it may be), because it sells. The flavor of the month in Europe is to hate Bush so if you publish an Anti-Bush headline, you sell papers. And about their own leaders, the French media is more interested in their President's love life than anything political about him.
Father_Brain
Banned
See the examples in the quote I posted. What journalists are supposed to do is report honestly; if a source agrees to talk to a journalist without specifically requesting beforehand that it be off the record, he or she should assume that anything said will be a matter of public record. A source has no right to request anonymity ex post facto just because he/she slips up and says something that he/she doesn't want published, let alone get anonymity without even requesting it at all, as Russert gave his sources.
Father_Brain said:
The quote you gave wasn't really the type of source I was talking about but still ask yourself this question, is it really news? I think its the big problem with this election campaign. Who cares what one adviser let slip to a news reporter. The issues seem like they arent important. Its just this controversy and that controversy. Its all just petty.
xs_mini_neo
Banned
FoneBone said:
My thoughts exactly.
NewLib said:
People here and elsewhere really do live and die by the media.
OG_Original Gamer
Member
Wow, just wow. Meet the Press is one of the main shows I watch every Sunday morning. It happens after history is made, not to have him available during the general elections is going to suck. I enjoyed the way he interviewed his guest, one of the best. Wow.
SouthernDragon
Member
Ok, fellas, fellas? It's a bit soon for all this. The man died yesterday. Have some respect for the man.
JoshuaJSlone
Member
I mean no disrespect to Russert, but when he died did he take MSNBC's weekend worth of non-Russert news scripts with him?
GitarooMan
Member
Great tribute to Russert on Meet the Press, very appropriate.
Unofficially, check out YouTube user TopOfTheNewsUSA . Here's the first part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfQ_-bSgM4EMrHicks said:
Officially, if you go to MSNBC's video page and click on one of the Meet The Press images near the bottom, the video player will open up and let you see a few chunks from the memorial episode, as well as other memorials.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8004316/
The one labeled "Brokaw: This is a celebration" is the opening of that Meet The Press episode.
If you just let the player do its thing after clicking, you'll get almost 2 hours of Russert lovins.
don't know if you guys caught this, but it's Stephen Colbert's tribute to Russert the other night. I absolutely love the fact that Colbert stayed in character to do it. You can see him almost start crying at the end, too.
http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=173864
Russert nails Colbert :lol
just thought you guys might want to take a look at it.
http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=173864
Russert nails Colbert :lol
just thought you guys might want to take a look at it.
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
Watching the Daily Show and Colbert gave me a wacky idea, that I actually like the more I think about it.
What if they got Stewart to replace Russert? He's not part of the media establishment, and he goes after everyone, especially if they try to lie to him.
Probably a bad Idea, but the more I think of anyone at MSNBC getting it the better anyone else seems.
What if they got Stewart to replace Russert? He's not part of the media establishment, and he goes after everyone, especially if they try to lie to him.
Probably a bad Idea, but the more I think of anyone at MSNBC getting it the better anyone else seems.
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
DrForester
Kills Photobucket
twinturbo2 said:
Well that makes Olberman's little comment "it's **** days since mission accomplished was announced for the Iraq war.." immediately after all the eulogy clips and before saying "Go Bills" to close out his show seems a little bit less a dick thing to do.
FamousCanuck
Banned
Why is his death so note-worthy? I just don't get this society, he was some random guy reporting news. What makes his death so much more "awe " worthy than any of the others?
R.I.P. of course
" worthy than any of the others?R.I.P. of course
FamousCanuck said:Why is his death so note-worthy? I just don't get this society, he was some random guy reporting news. What makes his death so much more "awe
R.I.P. of course
He wasn't some random guy reporting news, he was a seminal voice of generally bias-neutral opinion and one of the best interviews of our time.
I don't mind a society that mourns someone who distills information to the public and helps educate us all, as opposed to mourning an entertainer.
FamousCanuck said:Why is his death so note-worthy? I just don't get this society, he was some random guy reporting news. What makes his death so much more "awe
R.I.P. of course
You live in Canada, no?
He was not just some random news caster. He was probably the most level-headed and non-partisan newscaster in the business.
dead souls
Member
Tamanon said:
This post is laughable. I'm sorry the guy died, but come on. Educate people? Distill information? Is that a new way of saying bowing down to those in power, presuming any and all communication is off the record unless told otherwise, and generally allowing yourself to be used as a propaganda dissemination tool for the Rove machine?
The deification of Tim Russert really needs to be stopped.
The Lamonster
Member
You obviously don't know shit about journalism or the current state of journalism...probably don't know much about politics either.dead souls said:
You should probably go somewhere else and rant about 9/11 conspiracies or something.
dead souls
Member
The Lamonster said:
Good job refuting my points. Oh that's right, you didn't.
My undergrad degree is in political science so your conjecture as to my level of political knowledge is incorrect. Also WTF is with comparing people who have criticisms of Russert to 9/11 truthers?
9/11 conspiracies are extremely ludicrous, but so is the notion that Russert was some brave objective seer enlightening the uneducated masses.
Russert, like most Beltway reporters, was entirely too close to those in power that he had to cover and it compromised the quality of his work.
The Lamonster
Member
There's no reason to refute any of your points. You are over-complicating the issue. He was a great journalist and a nice guy. It's very sad. That's it. It's simple and this is making you sound like a JERK.
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