The tributes to the late Tim Russert continue to pour in, five days after his sudden passing last Friday. A number of people have commented that maybe the coverage of his death is a little over the top. Perhaps it is, but there is a reason for that in my mind. Russert was part of what is unfortunately a dying breed; journalists who are respected equally by politicians of both stripes. He was always honest about the perspective from which he was coming (generally liberal), but at the same time, he was clearly genuinely interested in what those on the other side of the political spectrum had to say. In fact, he felt that it was necessary to hear their viewpoint, as related by Bernard Goldberg: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121375187453382965.html?mod=djemEditorialPage.
It's just one guy's perspective, but I think that Tim Russert will go down as one of the seminal journalists of our generation. We will come to view him the way our parents' generation viewed Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.
2 comments:
I am saddened by the loss of Tim Russert. He was fair to all sides, did his homework, reported honestly, and was always a gentleman. His appetite for politics was voracious. He loved his family, his people, this country, and we will miss him tremendously. Tim understood journalism, politics, and the meaning of integrity in both to its core. May his memory serve as a standard of excellence across all levels, especially in our lives. Check out this video: http://video.newsmax.com/?assetId=V2495919&promo_code=6356-1
That is a good article and I especially liked the last line about moral equivalency.
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