Do you remember where you were when you heard the news that Tim Russert died?
June 19, 2008 at 8:25 am by Wayne GarciaSeriously, it is Day 7 of the carpet-bombing coverage of the tragedy that was the death of NBC’s Washington bureau chief, and I had enough on Day 2. The news reports about Russert’s untimely passing illustrate just how far the mainstream media has moved away from true journalism and into the realm of infotainment. Russert’s death has a classic story arc with great characters: working-class kid, loves his dad and dotes on his son, writes a popular book, hosts a national show, is a good, old-fashioned journalist and not just a pretty TV face; his son is articulate, his friends in the biz are legion; a nation in mourning.
Let’s hope today’s coverage of yesterday’s memorial service end this madness.
Bonus cuts: DailyKos removed anti-Russert posts; in death, Russert dragged into oil debate; Deggans: Of course Russert coverage was over the top; “What has possessed NBC News to televise a never-ending video wake?”
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June 19th, 2008 at 9:02 am
On a more local note, a wake following the death of Dick Fletcher went on ad nauseam. Definitely a move by TV news to infotainment. People die every day, let them rest, please!
June 19th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I was at work and opened up my internet to read thepoliticalwhore.com and saw that Russert died.
Seriously! That’s what happened!
June 21st, 2008 at 11:18 am
I was at work and checked out Google News (the only non-work-related Web site many of us have access to) and learned of Russert’s passing. I have to admit that my jaw dropped, especially upon learning he was only 58 (I had turned 50 less than a week prior).
As for the coverage, while Tim was a major force in political news coverage, it was quite a bit overboard, and will reportedly continue tomorrow as MTP (with Brian Williams in the moderator chair) does another segment remembering Russert.