I Just Don't Get It...

Have we finally arrived at a point where the death of a journalist is more important than anything else happening in the news?

I liked Tim Russert. He was an outstanding journalist and a more importantly, one of the good guys.

But I must tell you that it disturbs me that his death is being treated like the passing of a world leader. Every channel, every story...wall to wall Tim Russert. And it will continue for days. There is something wrong when those that bring us the news are more and more the news itself. News has changed so much over the past thirty years.

Look, Mr. Russert was an outstanding newsman and commentator...but my God, his passing is merely his passing...it is not the end of the world as we know it.

Is anyone else disturbed that he his being treated like a saint when he was merely a news celebrity? I think our priorities are really screwed up.

-P

he played one on TV.

-P

at least it's the weekend...

edited for beers consumed.

I thought he was quite worthless, but he has/had a following and some appeal. Don't ask me what, someone here can fill you in.

in the million dollar, taxpayer witch hunt.

and they certainly deny what dire shape our country's in.

stoopid is as stoopid does. or something.

Then they screwed us over more for two terms and the press actually has the guts to say they are reporting the truth and maintaining some kind of fair and balanced bullshit mumbojumbo gobbledygook. Ha that word actually made it past spellcheck!

there was "Gore's a liar, Gore's a liar, Gore's a liar".

Ahhh, the memories. And the UFO question during a so-called "debate". And being such a pit bull (or "bulldog") whenever he interviewed Cheney. or Powell. Or...

and that it was at the office...

I'm sure it has preoccupied his co-workers and colleagues in the industry.

If you get tired... take a cable TV break. Don't watch for a day or so.

some truth to what you are saying.

Perhaps, what concerns me is that we have given a newsman/journalist the kind of news-worthiness that would be given for the death of a world leader. It is an issue of what a newsman is and his place in the grand scheme of things. The press is supposed to be the watchdog of our government. As far as I'm concerned, they did a horrible job in the recent past. To treat Tim Russert with the same treatment you would give a world leader's passing tells me more about what we as a people think is important. For me, the news is more important than the people delivering it.

Having said that, I hope only the best for him and his family (including is dad).

-P


On edit...
I'm trying to imagine Edward R. Murrow (sp) being treated this way and what HIS reaction would be to being treated like a saint. I think he would be disappointed.

-P

there would be an announcement, a few remembrances, possibly even a retrospective, and that's it.

When Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather pass away, you will get this and, possibly a bit more.

We got the full monty now (without commercial breaks!) because Russert died at work, unexpectedly, and he was, apparently, liked by everyone.

I noticed that Tweety didn't get all emotional... and I think he let it slip a little that they weren't good friends... to Russert's credit, I don't think he thought much of Tweety.

I found the premise of his book about his dad to be fatuous and self-indulgent. His biases crept into his reporting and his treatment of liberal guests couldn't have been more different from his treatment of his right-wing guests.

He was slightly better than 'Jeff Gannon', I suppose...

As for why the media lionizes people like this - I suppose it's because a lot of people

look to news personalities as symbols of stability and trustworthiness in their otherwise chaotic lives.

People like Russert who have become so familiar over the years leave a void for those who get their news from the TV.

but have kept my mouth shut to avoid being called a ghoul.

Afterall, this was the guy most here referred to as 'potato-head' on a regular basis...

Talking heads these days are more bobbleheads than newsfolk. Cult of the celebrity and all that i suppose has taken over so that i rarely watch any TV news anymore beyond a local weather report. The syndicated morning news programs are fluff, fashion and far from any 'news' i would like to know about. Maybe 3-4 minutes an hour will be dedicated to something happening in the world of any importance, the rest consists of the 'news anchors' sitting around on couches and yukking it up w/ each other, segments about home improvement, topics resembling 'infomercials' and my favorite filler..."we have the story you NEED to hear about ...(weather emergency/finance/health, whatever) coming up in the next hour" over and over. If it's so important, give it up now!

The viewing public has become so dumbdowned by the excuse for news that programs like Russert's and others are seen as definitive yet what more are/were they than his interpretation, colored by his own biases on topics he or his producers have chosen to speak about, ie. what they want you to believe. And not 'news'.

oh well, death is the great equalizer.
dp

this entire orgy is colored by M$Ms own biases...not one Russert critic has been invited. If Carter died they'd pack up the coverage with Rethug hacks. Russert is no world leader - this crap is overbearing. I stopped watching hours ago.

Any time they can fill hours of airtime with file tape, and still appear timely, cable news will do that.

It is the media thinking itself is the story. Sure they could mention it, but it shouldn't be more than that. The rest of the world goes on, and there are many other deaths on the same day.

He's dead, and I am typing on the DU...

So is life.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the guy's music, but, geesh, the way the networks covered his death, you would have thought he had been president!

DU has so become just like the corporate media we supposedly loathe. We cover the latest fodder from the media as over-much as they do. Everyone trying to find a unique spin so that their thread sticks out among the dozens of others. And if it's a death, oh my! We canonize the person and then the contest is on to see who can write the most self-righteous smack-down on anyone not joining the canonization procession.

It's just so sad.

Julie

It's the global village Marshall McLuan warned about decades ago...and so many are a part of it, they see this loss as one that is extremely personal. For many, Mr. Russert was their guide or gatekeeper...a familiar face that came into their homes weekly and always with a smile and bounce in his step. He had a unique personality in a world that has evolved around the personalities and where the personalities have become the stories and much or more than the people they cover. Look at all the interest people have here in Olbermann beating O'Reilly or the "outrage" when a story or issue isn't covered...the 24/7 news culture has created its own verve and Russert was one who this world revolves around. It's disoriented and with it comes the combination of sense of loss and balance...an awkward and macabre display that has all but turned MSNBC into a 24/7 wake.

Mr. Russert's untimely passing is shedding an interesting light on the fishbowl media he was an important part of. It's a reflection of a self-absorbed world that revolves around its own celebrity...where the governed and "public servants" mingle in an interesting dance of power and fame. It's become a reality show and Tim was one of the main characters...the world will go on...we will persevere, but for those inside the beltway, the game now goes to who will be the next drinkie-drinkie party and gain whatever advantage they can in the void he's created.

I-Grieve-More-Than-Anyone-EVAH!!!-ism.

is at least as much a libaility to them as an asset - even leaving aside the albatross he's strung round his neck by favouring a waging of permanent war by the US.

While I don't think it's fair to rake him over the coals about possible health issues, I think it is fair to speak about the quality (or lack thereof, of his work) I equally don't like all the Tim worship either in the media.