Tim Russert dies

Chris D · June-13th-2008, 03:45 PM

Wow. He was only 58.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06132008...att_115384.htm

tippy · June-13th-2008, 03:50 PM

Wow is right. Very surprising.

rollhead · June-13th-2008, 03:54 PM

I read he had diabetes.

Scott Dolan · June-13th-2008, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tippy

Wow is right. Very surprising.

Agreed.

My boss just told me, I hadn't even heard about it yet.

RBS · June-13th-2008, 04:19 PM

I just saw Tom Brokaw. He was pretty choked up during his announcement but he also said that Tim Russert had worked himself to the point of exhaustion on a regular basis.

Monte Smith · June-13th-2008, 04:53 PM

That's too bad.

jesus marion joseph · June-13th-2008, 05:04 PM

Wow, I feel bad for his family, but at least they had just enjoyed a vacation together. Maybe not my favorite journalist, but an effective interviewer and interrogator. RIP.

rollhead · June-13th-2008, 07:42 PM

The saturation coverage of this is over the top. Apparently, it is on all the channels.

I watched about the first 20 minutes of NBC News tonight. It was all about Russert.

I turned it off when one of their guests, Sally Quinn, compared Russert's death to the assassination of JFK.

Monte Smith · June-13th-2008, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollhead

The saturation coverage of this is over the top. Apparently, it is on all the channels.

I watched about the first 20 minutes of NBC News tonight. It was all about Russert.

I turned it off when one of their guests, Sally Quinn, compared Russert's death to the assassination of JFK.

There's nothing the media loves to talk about more than the media. That's why I groaned twice when I heard about Russert. First the groan of sadness, he's a man, ask not for whom the bell tolls. Then the groan of disgust, what kind of a meal are the journalistic estate going to make of this.

I liked Russert, but I do not like the position he attained. I like diversity in news which would best be represented by not having careerists as gatekeepers of opinion. For that reason I do not like anchors and I do not like "Meet the Press" meaning "Meet Tim Russert." I would prefer anonymous talents a la C-Span to rotate thru the big chairs frequently. High turnover, low salaries, bland faces. Watch the meal they make of Russert tonight, Olberman and Matthews, heirs to the throne. This is no slam on Russert, who was better than most. God bless his soul.

Scott Dolan · June-13th-2008, 08:14 PM

He was better than most. That's probably the sad part. But, he often did a pretty nice job.

Well, I was looking forward to watching some political shows this weekend...

But, it probably wouldn't be safe for my television if I were to hear anybody compare his death with the assassination of JFK.

Monte Smith · June-13th-2008, 08:18 PM

At least nobody ever called Tim Russert "the most trusted man in America," barf, a la Walter Cronkite. Although they probably will tonight. The media loves the media.

Scott Dolan · June-13th-2008, 08:24 PM

Yeah, but I suppose it's no different than when we make threads here just to talk about each other.

RBS · June-13th-2008, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

Yeah, but I suppose it's no different than when we make threads here just to talk about each other.

That's actually a good point. How many threads are there with your name in the title alone?

Monte Smith · June-13th-2008, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

Yeah, but I suppose it's no different than when we make threads here just to talk about each other.

I think that's right.

Gentle Giant · June-13th-2008, 09:33 PM

I'm finding it hard to get choked up about a television journalist, regardless of his apparent quality. There's too many other other people dying every day who haven't had a life as lucky as his. I mean, it's not like I'm going to fire up tapes of Meet the Press, like I would spin a Bo Diddley record.

But what the hell, RIP.

hornplayer · June-13th-2008, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rollhead

I read he had diabetes.

That's not what his doctor said on MSNBC tonight... some sort of heart condition that was connected to his weight and lack of physical activity. He had started exercising a couple of months ago, and had lost 10 pounds...

guess it was not enough soon enough

What a loss.... He was truly amazing as an interviewer.. and so smart and well informed on his subjects.

GoodSpeak · June-13th-2008, 10:02 PM

Damn.

Too young to die.

Rest in Peace, Tim.

Gordon B · June-13th-2008, 11:37 PM

Charlie Jones died of a heart attack yesterday.
He was 77. He was probably one of the only sportscasters who had a law degree. He started doing pro football with the AFL back in 1960.

rollhead · June-14th-2008, 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hornplayer

That's not what his doctor said on MSNBC tonight... some sort of heart condition that was connected to his weight and lack of physical activity. He had started exercising a couple of months ago, and had lost 10 pounds...

I only mentioned the diabetes because it can exacerbate heart disease.
http://www.diabetes.org/heart-disease-stroke.jsp

Not sure it is true, but it was reported by the CBC:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/story/2...t.html?ref=rss

Hudson Boy · June-14th-2008, 02:12 AM

It's rough when a father outlives his son, as in the Russerts' case. My father also died when he was about 58, before his father.

gonzo · June-14th-2008, 05:14 AM

what a shocker this was huh?? one of our great journalists gone so suddenly...

jesus marion joseph · June-14th-2008, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon B

Charlie Jones died of a heart attack yesterday.
He was 77. He was probably one of the only sportscasters who had a law degree. He started doing pro football with the AFL back in 1960.

I believe Howard Cosell had a law degree, didn't he?

Gordon B · June-14th-2008, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesus marion joseph

I believe Howard Cosell had a law degree, didn't he?

He probably was also one of the only announcers...

Neither scores very high on my personal sonorous speech scale.

Captain Hate · June-14th-2008, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon B

He probably was also one of the only announcers...

Neither scores very high on my personal sonorous speech scale.

I thought Charlie had a pretty good announcing voice; it was distinctive and you knew it was him when you heard it. He sometimes said some goofy things in his AFL broadcasts but I always enjoyed listening to him. "Look out Len Dawson"

Regarding Russert: I agree with most of the comments on here about his integrity and about how over-the-top the coverage would be about him.

Gary Sisco · June-14th-2008, 11:36 AM

Monte -- There's a famous (in those circles) anarchist cartoon that shows a bunch of televisions with legs and arms, all interviewing each other with microphones.

patricia · June-14th-2008, 02:28 PM

Second full day on MSNBC of Tim Russert memorial statements from it seems everybody. This means that he was well thought of and will be missed by many.
How many days do most news people get airtime dedicated to them when they die?
I'm certainly not denying Russert's importance to many, including his television network.
But, the current news has been reduced to the crawl as rememberences by fellow news people follow, one after the other.
Strange. There are other things happening in the world, aren't there?

Mike Schwartz · June-14th-2008, 03:06 PM

I've missed most of this aside from a couple of online articles the day of the announcement.

I think that part of the big fuss is that despite what anyone thought of this man, he was a mover and a shaker and would have been an important player in the upcoming presidential election like few others. he already was....

Now there's a gap that nobody knows how or if it will be filled; the absense of Russert felt by those in politics and those in the news biz.

patricia · June-14th-2008, 05:30 PM

The reason I was wondering about the national grief at Russert's death, including all day rememberances of him on-air, pre-empting regular programming is that I understand the flags in Buffalo are being flown at half-staff.
I'm not sure what the protocol is in the U.S. But here, flags are not even flown at half-staff when soldiers die in combat when they return to their home towns. So, it seems strange to me that that honour would be afforded to Russert.
Don't get me wrong. I watched "Meet The Press" every Sunday. I liked Russert and don't begrudge him the tributes. Just the amount of time being spent on mourning him so publicly seems odd.

Monte Smith · June-14th-2008, 05:53 PM

There is now a hole at Meet the Press. This hole needs to be filled with an a-hole. The men in line at NBC (too bad Katie jumped ship) are Chris Matthews (ha!), Keith Olberman (cringe), and David Gregory. My bet is that Hairball Matthews is too downmarket for the flagship Meet the Press, and Olberman too snarkily partisan, and Gregory just hasn't earned it yet, baby. So Brokaw is coaxed out of retirement. Meet the Press with Tom Brokaw.

patricia · June-14th-2008, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

There is now a hole at Meet the Press. This hole needs to be filled with an a-hole. The men in line at NBC (too bad Katie jumped ship) are Chris Matthews (ha!), Keith Olberman (cringe), and David Gregory. My bet is that Hairball Matthews is too downmarket for the flagship Meet the Press, and Olberman too snarkily partisan, and Gregory just hasn't earned it yet, baby. So Brokaw is coaxed out of retirement. Meet the Press with Tom Brokaw.

Why not coax Dan Rather out of retirement, or wherever he is now?
I understand that he is suing CBS for millions after his character and ability was assassinated. He refuses to settle, which means it's not about money.
I thought it interesting that the authenticity of the disputed documents [Bush's service in the National Guard] were at issue, but authenticating them was impossible because the man who provided them, Burkett, had burned them after copying them for Rather. I always wondered why he would destroy them, making it impossible to authenticate the originals.
In any case, Rather's actual story was killed because of the controversy. Hmmm.