Lessons Learned from Tim Russert

By James Zipadelli

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The death of Tim Russert, former NBC News Washington bureau chief and moderator of Meet the Press, got more coverage than the last US president to pass away, Gerald Ford. Why?

I understand that Russert was an excellent broadcast journalist, but how many hours can you spend telling viewers in one way or another how great he was? Did he really command that much attention? At 3:30pm on the afternoon of June 13th, a somber Tom Brokaw announced that Russert had died. That was newsworthy. Then the cable networks broke from their regular programming to offer their remembrances of Russert for several hours without interruption. CBS's Bob Schieffer told the Associated Press, "When you slipped one past ol' Russert, you felt as though you had hit a home run off the best pitcher in the league." In a statement, President Bush called Russert "a tough, hardworking newsman." Senators McCain and Obama passed along their condolences on the campaign trail. Even Rush Limbaugh, who often criticizes the "drive-by liberal media" on his radio show, called him "genuine," "the consummate professional" and "the closest thing there was at any of the networks to an objective journalist."

That night, NBC's Nightly News was entirely dedicated to Russert; Dateline NBC was dedicated to Russert; CBS's Evening News devoted about half of their broadcast to Russert, and Sunday's Meet the Press was dedicated to Russert. MSNBC broadcast the private funeral on the 18th. If there's a way to put Russert on the fast track to sainthood, they'll find a way to do that, too. I can picture the moment: "Father, because David Duke appeared on Meet the Press in 1991, Tim Russert exposed him as a fraud and he lost his bid for the governor of Louisiana. We hereby certify this as a miracle."

What these distinguished journalists are missing is the biggest lesson Russert taught them. I think Russert would have wanted his staff to mourn and go forward with enthusiasm and professionalism. He would want them to give sources time to explain their positions so that the public can be more informed, instead of always going for the easy sound bite.

When Russert died, Brian Williams was reporting from Afghanistan. Some of his coverage didn't air for a week and a half. Considering Russert's commitment to covering the War on Terror, it's the sort of reporting he would have wanted viewers to see. The stories are currently on nightly.msnbc.com.

Brokaw was a worthy choice for interim moderator of Meet the Press. He's familiar with loyal viewers, knows Washington well and will be a steady hand in this historic election. However, it's hard to imagine Brokaw trading his retirement to go back to work full time. Andrea Mitchell would be a good choice because, as chief foreign affairs correspondent, she knows her stuff. She's been trained under Russert, and NBC could say they have the preeminent female journalist, instead of CBS boasting Katie Couric. NBC also has to find a journalist of Russert's caliber to run the Washington bureau.

The election is five months away, and Russert is not going to be there to guide us.

James Zipadelli is a freelance writer based in Boston.