WAS COVERAGE OF RUSSERT'S DEATH OVERPLAYED? The death of veteran journalist Tim Russert at the age of 58 last Friday was a stunner. And now questions are being asked whether the coverage of his passing was overplayed by the news media. Slate TV critic Jack Shafer wrote a scathing article (see below) titled "The Cannonization of Saint Russert" that said coverage of his death was way overdone. However, Aaron Barnhart of the Kansas City Star and (TVBarn) responded to Shafer with the reasons (below) why the Russert death resulted in so much coverage and why it was not really such a bad thing.
press box The Canonization of Saint Russert The media overdo the death of a journalist. By Jack Shafer June 16, 2008
I have nothing against Tim Russert. He hosted two decent programs, Meet the Press and the less-watched Tim Russert, and ably helmed NBC News' Washington bureau. According to his colleagues and competitors, he was a conscientious journalist and a fine leader. He was said by all to be a good husband, father, and son. So Russert's death at 58 is a sad occasion. Yet is it of such importance and momentum that his network, the other networks, and newspapers should continue to salute, remember, and otherwise memorialize him? Russert's own networks, NBC and MSNBC, have bathed him in appreciation. On Friday, MSNBC broke in with coverage announcing the death and started collecting reactions. NBC Nightly News mourned his passing. Dateline NBC was given over to Russert's memory, as was MSNBC's Hardball. The fallen newsman's Saturday show, Tim Russert, memorialized him, as did the Saturday edition of Today, which fielded the reminiscences of Bob Schieffer, George Stephanopoulos, and Tom Brokaw, who appeared at almost every juncture to talk about his friend. Sunday's Today reprised the coverage. The Chris Matthews Show devoted itself to Russert's memory, and the contestants—I mean, guests—on a special edition of Meet the Press competed to see who could loft the highest praise for the show's departed host. (See this Meet the Press reel for a few examples.) As if all the NBC News airtime isn't enough, MSNBC plans to broadcast a private memorial service for Russert from the Kennedy Center on June 18 at 4 p.m. What has possessed NBC News to televise a never-ending video wake? Almost nothing aired contained much in the way of news. After reporting his passing and a postmortem by his physician, nearly every minute of NBC and MSNBC coverage tried to convey the loss felt by his peers—David S. Broder, Andrea Mitchell, Al Hunt, Mike Barnicle, Al Roker, Brian Williams, Dennis Murphy, Barbara Walters, Bob Woodward, Gwen Ifill, Sally Quinn ("I feel almost like we did when somebody—when Jack Kennedy or even Katharine Graham died"), Chuck Todd, Wolf Blitzer, Kelly O'Donnell, Maria Shriver, and others. They loved him. They admired him. He was their mentor. He raised the bar for all journalists. He was thoughtful. He was kind. Of the highest integrity. Generous. Loyal. And so on. Just because it's true doesn't make it news. At least NBC News had an excuse for its news blindness. Russert was one of theirs, and because he was so important to NBC News, everybody probably thought he was just as important to the network's viewers. Link to entire article: http://adastrum.kansascity.com/?q=node/255
Aaron Barnhart
What do Jack Shafer and Fox News have in common? By Aaron Barnhart Tim Russert's passing was unwanted and unfortunate, but in at least one respect its timing was impeccable. Russert had his fatal heart attack on a Friday, at the end of a slow political news week, on the second least-watched day of television and the day before the least-watched day of the week. Furthermore, his passing occurred in the middle of June, after the primary season had ended and after the television season had ended. In short, it was a perfect time to observe his life and record his death on TV, because there was nothing much of importance to pre-empt. Of course, it helped that President Bush, John McCain, Barack Obama and seemingly half the U.S. Senate issued tributes to Russert in the hours after his death. But even if they hadn't, MSNBC still would probably have turned the next 72 hours into a Tim Russert Weekend of Remembrance. Well, what else were they going to do — show repeats of those "Lockup" documentaries? Come on. Of course they were going to memorialize their beloved Irish uncle, their "leader" (Keith Olbermann), their "best friend" (several NBCers), their "father figure" (Chuck Todd). Not to mention the most-watched Sunday morning host and a constant presence on MSNBC during this election season. NBC even joined in, having nothing to lose but perhaps a "American Gladiators" re-airing, and devoted an hour to a quickly assembled tribute on Friday. Link to rest of article: http://blogs.kansascity.com/tvbarn/2008/06/what-do-jack-sh.html
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