comment #1

thevisceral says ...

Luke Russert seemed altogether too composed. There's something funny there.

comment #2

FilmsGuy says ...

I have been a faithful reader of your blog for a long time...well, for as long as it's been up, really. And while I disagree with you often, I know that's just the way the ball bounces and I enjoy your posts. But I am shaking right now with madness and sadness at your post about the coverage of Tim Russert's death. Are you really that cold and heartless? Do you really feel as though the way you grieve or the way you feel emotion is the way that all do? This man was a very special person. Someone who was an every-man who touched the hearts of folks he never met. I'm half the man Tim Russert was---perhaps less. And it is confirmed by your post that you, my friend, are about half the man I am---perhaps less.

comment #3

Rob says ...

You mean like Patsy Ramsey "composed?"

comment #4

T. S. Idiot says ...

It's not just NBC. The other networks, even the local NYC stations, have been pouring it on endlessly. My only exposure to TR came when he used to appear on Imus (before I gave up on that cranky icon). He seemed likable, almost hip for a network newsy. He was a real person, while those paying tribute to him are jerks and empty suits. Maybe that's why they're going overbored.

comment #5

scs says ...

well yes. the establishment media is overpraising and sentimentalizing russert because he pretty much was the establishment media. despite all the talk about his "tough" questioning, he never really challenged the power of the people he covered, because he was "one of them." as for his son, maybe having your own radio show at age 20 would be a little less "remarkable" if the job weren't the result - as several articles pointed out when he got it - of nepotism and his parents' connections.

comment #6

messiahcomplexio says ...

so your telling me the "today show" fell into hyperbole? Truly a shock.

it's like ordering a value meal at mcdonalds and getting pissed about all the grease on the fries. What did you think you were going to get? It's F****** Mcdonalds!!

As for the rest, the man died in their office on friday. Many of them probably saw the corpse carried out of the building. How'z about we give them a couple days to wrap their heads around it.

Jesus!

comment #7

anti-sardine says ...

Not related, but I just heard that FX legend Stan Winston has died. I would be curious to hear your take on his work Jeff. I prefer the kind of old school effects that he and his teams did, than much of the bad CG work that is being put out currently.

comment #8

Howlingman says ...

Put me in Wells' camp on this one. All the crying over his loss is akin to vultures, albeit well-meaning ones, circling the kill for their piece of it, and does a disservice to a very classy man.

But that's the way things are these days. Mourning has to be in public, grief counsellors have to be dispatched and it doesn't end until the corpse is picked clean.

comment #9

Breedlove says ...

FilmsGuy, I got a god laugh out of the image of you "shaking with madness and sadness" at this post. Are you serious? Jeff is spot-on. My dad and I were just talking about this on the phone yesterday. I was a big fan and admirer of Russert's. I was born in Buffalo, watch 'Meet the Press' every Sunday morning. The guy was charming, friendly, down to earth, an outstanding journalist and interviewer. He was the main force behind one of my favorite tv shows. He left us much too suddenly and much too soon. Having said all that, the coverage of his death has been way, way over the top to the point of being almost offensive. I understand it's just the world we live in today, the 24 hour news cycle, the internet, the 500 cable channels and talk shows But my god...you would think the pope or the president had died. I heard an interview with Barbara Walters where she was wondering 'how the country would recover from this' - not an exact quote, but words to that effect. Everyone droning on and on for hours and hours, saying the same things over and over and over. I'm sure he loved his dad and his son very much. But enough already about 'Big Russ' and 'Luke'...he loved his family, most people do. I guess I'm a cynic. It's very sad, and I personally will miss his presence for the rest of the campaign a great deal. But the coverage of it has been pretty gross. Jeff wrote a perfectly respectable tribute to Russert when it happened, even defending him from some nasty commenters, and it's completely appropriate for him to comment on the ridiculous coverage that's been going on, as though this were 9/11 or something. Sheesh. I was glad to see this post because I was bitching about the same thing just yesterday.

comment #10

gruver1 says ...

Wells to FilmGuy: You are a clueless sentimental dweeb...a weeping girlyman. Do you carry a handkerchief around in your breast pocket so you can blow your nose when you cry, which I presume is quite often? Read Russert's book sometime and meditate about the qualities that Big Russ, whom Russert admired so much, brought to his life. Suck it in, be an Irishman, have a drink, wear black.

comment #11

Howlingman says ...

WINSTON?!

comment #12

Monument says ...

I thought the empty chair on Meet the Press was the best and I wish it had ended there. It would be nice if they would give it a rest, if only to allow the audience to feel his absence.

comment #13

pauly says ...

I can understand some saying that this is being overdone, but I don't really have a problem with it. Meet the Press was, IMO, the best mainstreem political show out there, and it was because of Russert.

He really did ask the hard questions of both parties, and he also kept his own beliefs out of the conversation, and that's a rare thing. He held people accountable and didn't let his personal likes or dislikes of his guests influence how they were treated on his show.

I also got the sense (or am getting the sense after all this converage about his personal life), that he was a rare person in this area too. I didn't know that he was ultra-Catholic, and me not knowing that is a compliment to him...he didn't seem to force his beliefs on his viewers (I'm looking at you Wells lol), or the people in his personal life.

I know that I got chocked up on Sunday when Brokaw got chocked up, but for me it was because a great American show that could intelligently discuss major issues, and could also remain completely objective and non-partisian, was over.

RIP Tim Russert.

comment #14

hardlanding says ...

I *completely* agree with Jeff on this one. It's no disrespect to Tim Russert - I always enjoyed his show, but the media is WAY overdoing it. Overpraising someone in public (which is what all these newscasters are doing) is creepy and self-indulgent. Worse, it's patronizing to us as viewers because they think we'll just lap this up.

comment #15

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

anti-sardine: do you have a link about Winston? Wikipedia says he died yesterday but I can't find a single news article about it, not even the LA Times.

comment #16

gruver1 says ...

I had a brief period when I smoked Winstons, when I was a teenager. I saw Young Winston exactly once. And death, as it must to all men, has come to Stan Winston. What do you expect me to do, get all Russerty about this? I'm thinking about the guy, okay? Giving him the once-over. All in good time.

comment #17

Rich S. says ...

Agreed. Can I get a link of independent confirmation on Winston? He is/was one the titans, on a plane with Rick Baker, Ray Harryhausen, Stuart Freeborn, Jack Pierce, etc. I can't believe he's gone.

comment #18

Joshua Mooney says ...

"Stately, plump Tim Russert came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him by the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned: 'Introibo ad altare Dei'... Buffalo-Cleveland-NewYork-Washington, 1950-2008."

---Yeah, the coverage was excessive, but it won't "taint his memory." It'll be forgotten soon enough. It's hardly memorable. No one's gonna hold it against Russert, in any case. And I don't find it surprising. It's cable and network news in 2008. They spent days on some sinkhole in Texas just a few weeks ago. Their coverage of anything isn't exactly based on its importance to the public at large.

comment #19

David Ehrlich says ...

i'm absolutely in wells' camp on this one, but -as evidenced above and throughout the annals of this blog - jeff couldn't possibly be more cro-magnon and callow when responding to posters who challenge him. rather than establish any sort of coherent dialogue with his readers, his crude and empty retorts suggest that he has no time for those who see the world differently from him - only disdain. it's one of those things you have to accept if you plan on frequenting this site. i was over it years ago. so even though jeff couldn't find the high road with an army satellite, filmsguy's reply would have incensed me as well.. as it assumes moral clarity and intimate knowledge of a tv personality, and that's just annoying.

and yeah, luke seems to be handling this all as well as one could hope for, with grace and maturity... but - meredith viera - that doesn't make him any more "incredible" than the millions of unfortunate people who face such loss in the unpublicized margins.

comment #20

messiahcomplexio says ...

Wells- any way I can hire you to be a professional griever? Your pragmatic musings would bring just the right touch to many a overly sentimental burial service.

"Good man, nice guy, blah blah blah, He would want life to go on, and I got a tee time in 20 minutes! Hey, wait a minute, that open hole would make it easier to get a hole in one...Jett, get daddy's clubs out of the car! "

BTW I'm giving a class on Monday's and Wednesday's at the learning annex. How to properly operate your remote control.

comment #21

anti-sardine says ...

It is not being heavily reported at this time. Only the IMDB notation and, while hardly being anything close to a legitimate confirmation: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/37106
or http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=533700 which seems to be getting it from the same sources.
I hope it is not true, but it may well be.
Just interested on your take Jeff, no hurries, no worries.

comment #22

Monument says ...

If Jeff took the time to seriously respond to every kook that gets pissy with him, he'd be running a pen pal service rather than a blog.

comment #23

Mark says ...

Part of the problem here is that he died on a Friday afternoon. Of course the Today show must address it up front, which unfortunately for us, can only happen close to 65 hours after the passing. The noise would only have lasted 24 hours had he passed on say a Wenesday.

Watching Luke rather unaffected by clips and quotes of his father, contrasted with my girlfriend crying next to me, i couldn't help but think of Tim Russert's stone-faced response to a destroyed Aaron Broussard following Hurrican Katrina.

comment #24

T. S. Idiot says ...

Don Pedro Bart agrees with Wells:

http://www.variety.com/blog/130000613.html

comment #25

Jay says ...

I think I am leaning toward how Garrison Keillor treats the backstage death during the Prairie Home Companion movie. Move on without a mention, keep the show rolling.

I guess it sounds cold, but THEY knew Russert, Ed Bradley, Jim McKay, etc. WE didn't. Maybe we will feel sad for their loss, but seizing the airwaves as hostage and droning on about someone's legacy... come on. They were an on-air personality - no more. They did not contribute that much to our lives. Continue reading the news off of your teleprompters, please.

Man, that didn't SOUND cold. It WAS cold.

comment #26

Redmond says ...

I'm with Jeff on this one. I respect the guy, but now they're going way too far. I felt bad for the teary-eyed Brokaw, Williams, etc. when they did essentially do what Russert would've wanted and reported the news ASAP. But now it's time to quietly move on and let Tim Rest in Peace.

comment #27

supertaster says ...

Hey where's my writing credit??

two days ago:

Maybe it was my Catholic upbringing, but I think Russert would be embarrassed by the lavish praise-a-thon taking place at nbc's spinoff network. Hour after hour, person after person it becomes less about him and more about them, their sadness, the story of their grief (witness Wells' comment about the msnbc team). Clearly this is a huge loss for everyone close to him, but the personal stuff is best and most sincerely expressed in private.

I think Russert would say "ok guys, I'm flattered, but McCain just contradicted himself again and Obama made a naive comment about social security. Go after them *both* and find out what's happening."

Day of:

As I mentioned his death is troubling, but PRager's last post touches on a problem not necessarily with Russert but with his colleagues. When people rush to show others how sad they are and put on their maudlin faces for the world to see, genuine grief turns into a vulgar display of emotion. MSNBC yesterday bordered on that, especially Olbermann -- if he was incapable of keeping it together they should have had someone running the show who was a little more detached, instead he teared up, sweated, and choked for 5 hours straight, and thus his pain became part of the story.

It's natural to lionize people immediately after their death and RUssert was worthy of most of the the praise he's been receiving, but some of the hyperbole really threatens the purity of his memory rather than serving to bolster it. Andrea Mitchell calling him "the bravest man I have ever known" seems a bit like a hasty exaggeration.

The guy dropped dead in private, out of view of the camera -- and that's exactly where the mourning should take place. There is surely news as worthy as Russert's death that msnbc has ignored for the last 72 hours.

comment #28

Terry McCarty says ...

T.S. Idiot wrote:
Don Pedro Bart agrees with Wells:

To add to Bart's blog entry, I would state that the NBC News Old Guard can see more budget cuts and tabloidization coming--thereby mourning someone who shared their soon-to-be-imperiled-again journalistic values.

comment #29

bill weber says ...

The guy was a pol-friendly hack journalist. Period.

comment #30

dinther says ...

My friends who worked with Russert say he was the real deal - a very good guy, a pleasure to be around, a great family man. That is worthy of some tribute - but these piano-laden encomiums are surreal.

What grates on me is how so many are now embellishing the myth of Russert as a tough interviewer, and glossing over the fact that Russert represented everything that is wrong with DC "establishment" journalists. He was a member of the club - his softball interviews of Bush and Cheney were pro forma and laughable. He went for the cute easy soundbites from Carville and Matlin rather than take on the substance of serious issues. And he couldn't ask a follow-up question if it hit him in the face.

comment #31

Walter Sobchak says ...

Congratulations, you'll will ALL be appearing as one of Olbermann's "Worst People In The World!!!" latter this week.

comment #32

quitstaringatme says ...

Meh, I don't even watch the news.

comment #33

bb says ...

I haven't watched any TV since his death but saw a couple of clips from msnbc. It was a great loss to TV news since there are so few true professionals anymore. It used to be important to be a professional on camera, now reporters get their own show when they flip their lid on TV.

What the excess reporting (as I understand it from these comments) does clarify is that in spite of the various outlets' pronouncements of an unshakeable devotion to great journalism, the news we see is ultimately determined by its importance to the journalists, not its importance to the viewers.

Not that we didn't already know that or anything.

comment #34

mrmystery says ...

thanks, Jeff. NBC is doing what the Russians did to Lenin: propping up the corpse to score points and distract the peasants. Tim Russert was the grand interviewer only in context of Stephanoplis and Chris Mathews. I can't but think of his breathless bloviations about baseball with the plagarist D. K Goodwin as his true legacy.

Just turn the channel, Jeff, you'll feel better.
If O'Reilly dropped dead with a loofah in his hand, you think his kids would get to go on the Today show?

comment #35

romeoisbleeding says ...

I am afraid I have to agree with Jeff about this one. Enough really. I was at work when the news hit and a lot of my younger co-workers really had no clue who he was. A lot of the older generation had to explain and I could see their eyes roll up in their heads. Like yeah too bad.. next. Why is it that in death people become more important?And yet there has been almost nonestop coverage like he was a president or pope. He was a good man. That is a given. My dad was a good man too. I don't know that I would want him discussed on tv for days. Sometimes I wonder if stories like this get so much coverage because it makes it easier to do the news that night. Just sit around and chat about the past. And maybe they are secretly hoping that when they pass away they will become the big story of the week too. God Bless Tim but I hope the same God blesses all of the people who passed away last week too and takes care of their family and friends.

comment #36

Nate West says ...

Enough already with "enough already." It's a wake. NBC is airing it because he was one of them--a boss, a mentor, a friend. I don't have a problem with it. Even "plastic tv people" need to grieve now and then. So let them. If you don't want to watch, then be a man, be an Irishman, and turn it off.

Save your stoicism for the day Wells kicks it: "Yeah, Jeff was a great guy and all. But how about Iron Man III. Didn't it just blow away Teen Titans?"

comment #37

xiaoguo says ...

Not related, but I just heard that FX legend Stan Winston has died. I would be curious to hear your take on his work Jeff. I prefer the kind of old school effects that he and his teams did, than much of the bad CG work that is being put out currently.
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comment #38

jany says ...

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