Is it long enough out now to say that I think Tim Russert was someone who got famous for being really terrible at their job? But he was terrible in a way that was amenable to many people, especially powerful people. He was someone that in no way shape or form jeopordized the power structure.
That doesn't mean he was a bad dad or husband or cowaroker or son. I am sure he was very good in all these aspects, but he led a public life and that opens his work up to comment. Andrea Mitchell referred to him as, "The preminent journalist of our generation." That quote in itself reveals what is wrong with the highest levels of our media. I am sure that she believes that, and she is largely responsible for the information that receives priority. She spoke of how he taught the Washington Bureau of NBC to be the journalists they are today. I don't doubt it; driven by distraction and addicted to nailing people to the wall over petty matters.
I appreciate that he loved the game of politics. I do too. I don't appreciate that he wasn't able to seperate that from larger priorities.
2 comments:
I think you just mistake what his job was. it was to make ratings by appealing to people who want the appearance of accountability without any profound upsets to the status quo. Maybe that is a pretty valid definition of a corporate journalist. there are certainly a lot worse out there.
That's true. Maybe I view journalism as a semi-sacred trust, and in that sense, he didn't do his job. He did his job by appealing to both his superiors and the viewers of Sunday morning shows.
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