In This Section
TV Guide Spotlight
Also on TVGuide.com
|
« The Biz
Did NBC News Go Overboard with Russert?
Tim Russert by Giovanni Rufino/MSNBC
It didn't take long for media critics and bloggers to start whining over how much time NBC News and its cable network are devoting to the death of Tim Russert.
"The Russert coverage will be remembered as one of the most embarrassing chapters in television journalism history," wrote whiner-in-chief Hal Boedeker of the Orlando Sentinel.
Too long. Too sentimental. Too self-indulgent. Boedeker and others are certainly entitled to rant. But to suggest that the coverage was a disservice to the viewer shows a complete lack of understanding about cable news works and the TV landscape in general.
Let's look at the news value of Russert's death. Here was a guy who had been at the top TV journalist in Washington for more than a decade and was only getting bigger during the 2008 presidential campaign. He was a rare instance of someone who was an iconic TV presence and still vital to the national conversation. In an instant, he was gone. There has never been an occurrence like that in the history of television. The death of ABC's Peter Jennings, arguably a more dominant presence at his network than Russert was at NBC, was monumentally heart breaking. But once the news was out that Jennings had lung cancer, his coworkers and the public had months to prepare for the end.
The sudden departure of Russert is likely to have an impact on the coverage of the presidential campaign in ways that we won't know until well after November. The Sunday morning public affairs shows have a major role in setting the agenda for the campaign and Meet the Press was hot seat where guests squirmed the most. What happens with the program over the next few months is bound to be a story.
Russert also happened to be a colorful figure and a really good guy. All of the nice things his colleagues and friends have said about him in recent days were actually true.
So do those points justify round the clock cable news coverage on MSNBC? If you care about Tim Russert, yes. If you don't, Nielsen Media Research says the average TV household has more than 118 channels to choose from. If you want to look at the same footage of floods in the Midwest, you could have watched CNN, Fox News Channel, Headline News or your local non-NBC affiliate. Let's not forget the Internet.
Russert's death was a big story that happened in NBC’s house and the network owned it. It was a story that many viewers wanted to immerse themselves in, judging from the boost in MSNBC's ratings the weekend after he died. The public was not disenfranchised in any way by MSNBC's saturation approach. To think otherwise, is to live in the past.
Related Russert News:
• This Week, Brian Williams Will Meet the Press
• The Biz Asks: Who Will Be Russert's Successor?
• Remembering Tim Russert, TV's Political Enthusiast
• TV Guide's Last Interview with Tim Russert
|
TVGuide Links:
|
|
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 4:52 PM
|
|
Great comments Stephen. IT sounds like sour grapes to me!
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 6:22 PM
|
I have to admit, I didn't watch all of the coverage. But I was also shocked at his death, and not sorry they did it. Certainly, it was not the ideal ratings response. I suspect we are watching people mourn, I mean, really mourn, not TV show or movie mourning where people are unhappy just long enough to satisfy the watcher then 'get closure' and 'move on' because other people don't want to deal with their loss, and other people don't care as much as the coworkers do. Too bad, if somebody didn't like it, they could do what I did... Watch This Week with George Stephanopolis or the CBS's Face the Nation.
Meet the Press is not the only Sunday Morning Press show, and the real crime here is that ALL of these shows are on during the hour Americans are most likely to be in Church.
Want to really do something to honor Tim Russet? How about having these shows on at an additional time when people are likely to be home and NOT in church.
Opps, that might inform the nation instead of soak it for advertising dollars!
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 6:54 PM
|
|
Absolutely, we were not disenfranchised! In fact, we crave all that Russert now symbolizes. I, for one, still can't get enough of watching him. I want to learn, now more than ever, how he created this new vision - a new American soul - towards peace and unity, regardless of political partyism.
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 7:00 PM
|
I have to admit that I didn't watch Meet the Press, though I did see Russert quite often on the Today show. I knew little about the man before his death, but listening to his son speak so eloquently and movingly about his father brought tears to my eyes. It was certainly proof of what type of man Tim Russert was, as he left behind quite a legacy.
Those who knew him best painted a lovely picture of the kind of man that Russert was, and if the network that made a home for him wanted to honor him, it shouldn't be a surprise, as many of him fans would be touched. And I'm sure there are other like me, who became fans too late.
I remember being similarly touched when David Bloom died, as I was a fan of him on the Today show. I think that it's okay for a network to spend time honoring someone we let into our "homes" on a daily, or weekly basis. As someone here mentioned, in the Internet world, there are plenty of other news outlets if you don't want to share in a story that does touch so many others.
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 8:54 PM
|
|
I've spent Sunday mornings with Tim Russert for over ten years. Outside of election years, his political coverage was often my only insight into Washington. I trusted him to provide an objective discussion on the most important topics. I'm grateful that NBC has provided so many wonderful tributes to Tim Russert, it gave me an opportunity to say goodbye. My Sunday mornings won't be the same.
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 9:21 PM
|
I appreciated every minute MSNBC spent focusing on the life of Tim Russert, a man who should stand as an example to us all.
It's about time coverage was devoted to a person for all the right reasons.
And yes, that no one was given time to process his death before it actually happened (Peter Jennings) made the days of public remembrance, grief, and recognition all the more moving and necessary.
In a year with themes of change and hope on the minds and in the hearts of the citizens of America and the world, Tim Russert represented the pinnacle of journalistic integrity. His family, his friends, and his viewers were not just mourning the death of the man, but the death of an ideal. The best way his colleagues can honor him is to take up his cause and set their sights on his high standards, both professional and personal.
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 10:02 PM
|
I for one do feel that the round-the-clock coverage, tributes, and panel discussions about Tim Russert, a full week after his death, became excessive--not only on the NBC networks, but elsewhere on television.
Don't get me wrong--I watch and MSNBC (and CNN) each weekday morning, as well as other times during the day, because I'm a political junkie and I enjoy their coverage of the current presidential campaign. I watch "Meet The Press" often, if not every week. I always looked forward to Russert's clear, concise overviews of the election, his sense of humor, and his no-nonsense journalism. I was as shocked and saddened by his death as everyone else was. But in the days afterward, I noticed how the NBC networks failed to demonstrate any kind of restraint in airing their endless tribute programs to him, day after day, morning, noon, and night, as if they simply didn't want to cover any other news during the week.
As wonderful and respected as Russert was, the prolonged period of mourning for him did indeed become self-indulgent on the part of the NBC networks. One would think by the extraorinary coverage of his passing that he was a former president or world leader, rather than a broadcaster. If he could, he would probably say, "Okay guys, enough. Give it a rest!"
And if he wouldn't say it, I am.
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 10:56 PM
|
|
I didn't watch him on Meet The Press, but I watched him quite often on the Today show. He always had me interested in what he had to say which is hard since I'm not always a fan of politics. After hearing all of the things his colleagues and son had to say about him, I had tears in my eyes. I for one do not think they could show enough tributes. He was loved by many as you could see with how many people came to his memorial. Even President Bush was there. He was a stand out person at NBC and I will miss his commentary. His family are in my thoughts and prayers.
|
|
Jun 19, 2008 11:48 PM
|
|
I'm not a morning person, which means I never see either TODAY or MEET THE PRESS, so Tim Russert was little more than a blip on this political junkie's radar. I think the few times I ever saw him were on the CHARLIE ROSE SHOW. Many people I know, who leave the house before the TODAY show each morning and go to church on Sunday mornings, have never heard of Tim Russert. He was surely a good guy and it was definitely a sad thing that he died so young, but I do think the coverage and memorializing was a tad excessive. I don't think he was as much an Icon as NBC would like to believe.
|
|
Jun 20, 2008 3:01 AM
|
|
Tim Russert absolutely was the TV Icon that NBC portrayed him as. This is evidenced by the past and current Presidents observing his death and going to his calling hours. President Bush, whatever you think of him, is a busy person and did not have to take time out of his day to see the family. I did not watch Meet the Press much but even I know that his interviewing was second to NONE. Tom Brokow said it best when he said that you can make people respect you but you cannot make them love you. People loved Tim Russert because he showed honor and character in a profession so often lacking it.
|
|
Jun 20, 2008 3:11 AM
|
|
Don't think so, remember Anna Nicole Smith that was overboard!!!!!!!!
|
|
Jun 20, 2008 7:35 AM
|
I'm not a morning person either but I used to record Meet the Press and watch it with it was convenient to me or nowadays I'd catch it online after it had aired on the west coast. I was truly shocked and saddened by Tim's death as it was so unexpected and please don't forget that NBC and MSNBC lost a friend, mentor, colleague and all around good guy. Of course they will honor him as they see fit. Tim Russert reported the news for 20 years and if he becomes the news for a couple of weeks, I say why not? Coverage on him is infinitely a lot more interesting than on the crappy celebrities they usually focus on!
I think anyone complaining about the amount of coverage Tim's death is receiving has way too much time on their hands to even notice how many hours of coverage is devoted to Tim. As The Biz article states, turn the channel if you don't want to watch this coverage!
For the record, I don't live in the US and I usually cringe at all the cable news but I applaud the coverage a good guy like Tim Russert is receiving.
My sincere condolences to Tim's family and friends.
|
|
Jun 20, 2008 7:40 AM
|
I agree with the bloggers that NBC did the right thing with Russert coverage and tribute.
All the tributes remind us what a loss to us with Tim's untimely Death. It is sometimes repetitive but I don't mind. Many of us are comforted by Tim's story told by his family, friends and colleagues.
by the way, it is not even a week after tim's death.
|
|
Jun 20, 2008 8:14 AM
|
First of all, I was a big fan of Tim Russert and his presence will be sorely missed this election year and for years to come. I do think NBC/MSNBC's coverage through Monday was a little excessive, but SO WHAT? That only means that personally I prefer to grieve in private. I still watched, and I certainly wasn't offended, and if anyone was they could change the channel.
As far as the other networks were concerned I thought their coverage was appropriate as well.
For someone to actually take the time to publicly complain about it...well, to each his own I guess.
|
|
Jun 20, 2008 8:32 AM
|
|
|
