Guest Cousin Tupelo Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 you can have my bong when you pry it from my cold, dead hands". The NBA? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Darlings, as flattered as I'm sure Tim Russert would be by all your musings on your own obituaries, I must ask that you either return to this thread's topic (that would be paying respects to Tim Russert's memory) or at least create your own thread specifically to muse about your own obituaries. This thread has gotten a bit disrespectful, though I admit to having giggled over it. But let's keep a serious thread on topic, ok? I'm thinking that I'm sure going to miss Russert's perspective when election day hits. I'm not sure who among the rest of the field can bring his energy and excitement and balance to the reporting. Yesterday must've been a painful Father's Day for his dad and his son. Yet another reminder to take a moment & let those you love hear you say it. None of us knows how long our time is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lammycat Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 NBC did a very nice piece on him Friday night with many of his colleagues and people he has interviewed over the years chiming in. The parts when he was sitting down with his dad, "Big Russ," being jointly interviewed , were particularly endearing. A decent man through and through, according to his peers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
renton Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Testimony at the Libby trial also revealed that far from fearing Russert as a tough interrogator, Cheney's office that he was a pushover: "I suggested we put the vice president on 'Meet the Press,' which was a tactic we often used," Martin testified. "It's our best format." (Daily Kos 1/25/2007). I seriously doubt Cheney felt that way after this interview from Sept 2006. Russert destroys him. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14720480/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mountain bed Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I found this to be an interesting article - especially the speculation on a potential successor to Russert. David Gregory, anyone? http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11084.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I found this to be an interesting article - especially the speculation on a potential successor to Russert. David Gregory, anyone? http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11084.html My dream host would be Bill Moyers - the only on air journalist-type who has consistently got it right over the last twenty plus years. Or, if Bill is not available - the no bullshit talking or taking, Helen Thomas. Helen'll have the bastards reduced to polite "yes mam's" and "no mam's" within minutes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cousin Tupelo Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 My dream host would be Bill Moyers - the only on air journalist-type who has consistently got it right over the last twenty plus years. Or, if Bill is not available - the no bullshit talking or taking, Helen Thomas. Helen'll have the bastards reduced to polite "yes mam's" and "no mam's" within minutes. Wow I agree wholeheartedly on Moyers. He's knowedgable, objective, dedicated and he has a surly streak -- to keep both sides of the aisle in line. You can catch him on "Now" on PBS, which, at least in the local market, plays Friday nights. I've met Helen. She's out to lunch. They would have to hire Jack Hannah to wrangler on and off the set. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fatheadfred Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 How about his son, Luke, that lil fucker is cool. Great presence for a 20 something. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fatheadfred Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I found this to be an interesting article - especially the speculation on a potential successor to Russert. David Gregory, anyone? http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11084.html not tough enough Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fatheadfred Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I have to admit I didn't see Russert on Sundays as I avoid TV on the weekend, however, his election night banter was spectacular. I have been catching up on MTP highlights on the internets and wow, what a cat. Love the Bush interview where he stumbles, more than usual, over trying to spit out a lie. Matthews aired the David Duke exchange last night as well. Russert was clearly ready to put it to him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aricandover Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 How about his son, Luke, that lil fucker is cool. Great presence for a 20 something. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/16...is_father_.htmlLuke Russert pays tribute to his father, Tim, in 'Today' show interview By HELEN KENNEDYDAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Monday, June 16th 2008, 2:47 PM Luke Russert, 22, touches his father's empty moderator's chair on the set of 'Meet The Press.' Later he told 'Today': 'I just wanted to hug that chair. I'm going to keep that chair forever.' Tim Russert's son Luke displayed his father's jaunty good spirits Monday morning in a "Today" show interview that was notably un-mawkish - even when he described a relationship so close that he got a tattoo of his father's initials. Luke Russert, 22, said he got himself secretly inked five years ago after he snuck a look at a moving manuscript his dad was writing about fathers and sons. His dad was shocked when he found out. "Here's my advice to the kids of America," Luke Russert said, with his dad's twinkle in his eye. "If you get a tattoo, show it to your parents on Christmas." He said he got the letters "TJR" - the initials of both his father and grandfather - inked on his torso so that "they're on my side and they'll be there forever." He said his relationship with his dad, the host of NBC's "Meet the Press" who died of heart failure Friday at age 58, was so close that they talked two or three times a day. Until graduation last month, the elder Russert frequently visited his son at Boston College, flying in authentic chicken wings from Buffalo. "It was remarkable. He'd rather drink beer with me and my friends in the back yard than go to a state dinner. My friends loved him just as much as I did," Russert said. The young man never lost his composure during the 15 minute interview, not even when he was shown a moving Associated Press photograph of himself touching his dad's empty chair after Sunday's "Meet the Press" tribute. "I just wanted to hug that chair. I'm going to keep that chair forever," he said. "That's my chair now." He said his dad was very demonstrative. "There was always a lot of love from him. We would always hug. There's not a day that (went) by that I did not know my father loves me. For that, I'm eternally grateful," he said. He said his grandfather, the "Big Russ" that Tim Russert wrote a bestseller about, was moved to a Buffalo assisted living facility two weeks ago but is aware that his son was gone. "I think he realizes what happened," Luke Russert said. "He's extremely sad. He said to me, 'He was the pitcher, you were the catcher and I was the umpire. We lost our pitcher.'" A public wake will be held from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at St. Albans prep school in Washington. A private funeral and burial are set for Wednesday. An invitation-only memorial beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday will be broadcast live on MSNBC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Wow I agree wholeheartedly on I've met Helen. She's out to lunch. They would have to hire Jack Hannah to wrangler on and off the set. Alright ok and so fine then, make it a Thomas/Hannah joint production. Helen could interview each week Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Or, if Bill is not available - the no bullshit talking or taking, Helen Thomas. Helen'll have the bastards reduced to polite "yes mam's" and "no mam's" within minutes.I would get up early to watch that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 I would get up early to watch that.omc yes! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rev HW Smith Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 goodbye good man Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 (Considering the circumstances, I don’t think there’s really any way for me to say this without sound like a dick, so, I’ll just go ahead and say it and let y’all decide my level of dickishness.) With all due respect to Tim, and though I was genuinely fond of him as a person, Russert was the consummate Washington journalist insider, and I do not mean that flatteringly. I cannot count the number of times he allowed a complete fabrication from an interviewee to die on the vine, without asking the most obvious of follow up questions. The Russert’s within the mainstream media do well and have attained such heights precisely because they can be trusted to get rough, but not too rough. Russert was in a position to nail members of this administration to the wall during countless interviews over the past seven years, yet all too often, chose to play softball. If he was as tough as he is now being given credit for being, he would have been ostracized and shut out by the Washington establishment quite some time ago. Media Matters has over 100 entries, individual cases in which he failed to challenge politicians with the most obvious of questions and follow ups. http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/tags..._russert?page=1 There, I said it. My dream host would be Bill Moyers - the only on air journalist-type who has consistently got it right over the last twenty plus years. Or, if Bill is not available - the no bullshit talking or taking, Helen Thomas. Helen'll have the bastards reduced to polite "yes mam's" and "no mam's" within minutes. He never had the intention of body slamming anyone. I'll bet you hate Bill O'Reilly for doing stuff like that, right? You come off as a combative prick when you interview people like that. In an interview that is being televised, you have to ask pointed questions without trying to bait or attack the person you are interviewing. Otherwise, you won't have anyone to interview. Nobody likes being attacked, and nobody likes watching people be attacked. The easiest way to lose credibility as a person doing an interview is to ask leading questions and back someone into a corner. You might get them to admit something, but you'll lose all credibility and nobody will come back. Tim Russert was one of the most enjoyable interviewers on TV precisely because he wasn't attacking people. He also managed to get interviews with people nobody else would be able to talk to because he was able to keep things civil while talking. An on-air interview is very different than an interview for a news story. RIP, Tim. You weren't one of a kind, but you were definitely the best of your kind. There probably hasn't been a more likable person on TV in a long time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kidsmoke Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 That was very nicely put. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 See, I'm not always a snot nosed, condescending, little shit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 He never had the intention of body slamming anyone. I'll bet you hate Bill O'Reilly for doing stuff like that, right? You come off as a combative prick when you interview people like that. In an interview that is being televised, you have to ask pointed questions without trying to bait or attack the person you are interviewing. Otherwise, you won't have anyone to interview. Nobody likes being attacked, and nobody likes watching people be attacked. The easiest way to lose credibility as a person doing an interview is to ask leading questions and back someone into a corner. You might get them to admit something, but you'll lose all credibility and nobody will come back. Tim Russert was one of the most enjoyable interviewers on TV precisely because he wasn't attacking people. He also managed to get interviews with people nobody else would be able to talk to because he was able to keep things civil while talking. An on-air interview is very different than an interview for a news story. True, but I Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Cousin Tupelo Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 What Peev and Greenwald say is *supposed to be* Journalism 101. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 What Peev and Greenwald say is *supposed to be* Journalism 101. ex-fucking-actly Yet this, in a nutshell, is what now passes for journalism 101 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Wendy Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Wow. What a nice send-off for Tim Russert ... a live solo performance of "Thunder Road" by Bruce Springsteen from tour in Europe to end the memorial service. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bobbob1313 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I stand by my previous assertion that print and televises news interviews should be held to different standards, but that's just me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Good Old Neon Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I stand by my previous assertion that print and televises news interviews should be held to different standards, but that's just me. Fair enough, though according to a Zogby poll, 31% of folks get their news from TV, while only 12% from newspapers - so, in a sense, you could say televised news programs such as Meet the Press play a greater role in shaping public opinion. And, as a result, are even more influential than print journalism. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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