Tim Russert, RIP

Listen to me on WMAL with Paul Harris, talking about the passing of Tim Russert.

Here's my first run at an obit, which will appear in Saturday's Kansas City Star. Please use the comments to share your remembrances of Russert. It's always tragic when a dad outlives the son, and this will be a tough Father's Day for Big Russ.

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Tim Russert, whose 17 years as moderator of NBC's “Meet the Press” made him arguably the most influential television journalist covering American politics, died suddenly on Friday. He was 58 and, not surprisingly, at work -- recording voiceovers for Sunday's broadcast -- when he collapsed of a heart attack.

“Nightly News” anchor Tom Brokaw went on the air at 2:39 p.m. Central time to break the news. He tried to keep his voice steady as he added a personal comment: “This news division will not be same without his strong, clear voice.”

Among the scores of tributes issued by politicians and media figures Friday, the one from Sen. Edward M. Kennedy spoke for many: “With a reasoned voice, a sharp mind and a fair hand, Tim took the measure of every Washington official and all those that sought to be one. He was a great journalist and an even better friend.”

Russert, a onetime aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Gov. Mario Cuomo, made the switch from politics to news in 1984. He began on the international beat for NBC, landing a prized interview with Pope John Paul II in 1985. In 1991 he became Washington bureau chief and moderator of “Meet the Press.”

At that time, the show was still half an hour long, had gone through five moderators in seven years and was trailing both David Brinkley's “This Week” ABC and CBS's “Face the Nation” in the ratings.

Russert turned the show around almost immediately by creating a signature style of interrogation virtually guaranteed to make his guests uncomfortable and mesmerize viewers. Belying his avuncular Irish Catholic style off-camera, the Russert who appeared on-camera was a difficult -- he liked to say “persistent but civil” -- interviewer. He would dredge up quotes that his subject had spoken, sometimes years earlier, put them up on the screen (or play the sound bite) and then grill his captive until he was satisfied with the response before moving on.

His style unsettled the independent presidential candidate, H. Ross Perot, in 1992. Perot stammered “May I finish?” when Russert kept prodding him about his positions. In 2003, while being questioned on “Meet the Press,” Vice President Cheney made his famous prediction that Americans would be “greeted as liberators” in Iraq. And it was while appearing on “Meet the Press” in 2005 that Aaron Broussard, the Louisiana official whose parish was flooded by Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, broke down in tears.

Very few formats in television have survived the whirlwinds of change in the past 15 years: the proliferation of cable news and talk radio, the news cycle accelerating to Internet speed, the audience's impatience fed by its appetite for fast-paced reality TV shows.

And yet, “Meet the Press” remained largely unchanged even as it continued to rule the Sunday morning interview show roost for more than a decade. Russert was ahead of the curve, and being a stickler for small details turned out to be exactly the quality that would fuel the rise of the blogosphere.

“Russert frustrates the candidates by knowing their positions on issues better than they do,” wrote Slate's Jack Shafer in an widely-discussed 2003 piece, “How to Beat Tim Russert.”

And not just national politicians were required to pass “the Tim Russert test.” Sen. Jim Talent and his then-challenger, Claire McCaskill, squared off less than a month before the 2006 midterm elections. Russert pressed Talent on his statement that “progress” was being made in the war in Iraq, while McCaskill had to answer for a quote suggesting that fighting terrorism was a criminal, rather than military, activity.

"It was one of the great pleasures of my political career that I got the chance to be challenged on Meet the Press by Tim," McCaskill said in a statement. "It is not surprising that the fairness and professionalism he brought to every interview is a common theme in all of our remembrances today."

Russert was a student of “Meet the Press,” and claimed to have watched every broadcast saved in the program's 60-year history. And he collected stories from past moderators. He told The Star last year about the time that Sen. Joe McCarthy brought a gun to the NBC studio “and had it on his thigh during the interview.” Russert, as was his wont, ended the story with a quip: “That's why they called him Tail Gunner Joe.”

Though observers would lament the obsession of TV news with “gotcha journalism,” Russert told The Star last year that he was simply returning “Meet the Press” to its roots, when it was known for more hard-nosed questioning of guests.

“It's not a matter of playing 'gotcha,'” Russert told The Star last year. “It's simply trying to help frame the debate.”

Rare among journalists, Russert was comfortable letting his personal side become public, especially after his bestselling memoir, Big Russ and Me, was published in 2004. (“Big Russ” refers to the senior Tim Russert, a sanitation worker and truck driver who raised four children in a south Buffalo, N.Y., neighborhood.) Russert would often be approached at airports by fans who said his book had changed the way they looked at their own fathers. Their testimonials would lead to a second bestselling book, Wisdom of Our Fathers.

In 1995, the National Father's Day Committee named him “Father of the Year” and in 2001 the National Fatherhood Initiative bestowed the same honor on him. More than one observer was heard on TV Friday noting the poignancy of Russert passing on Father's Day weekend.

While anchoring MSNBC's commercial-free coverage of Russert's death, its anchor Keith Olbermann referred to him “our leader,” adding that in his three decades of broadcasting, “I can't remember anyone who enjoyed what he did more than Tim Russert.” His sentiments would be echoed throughout the evening as the tightly-knit Washington press community reacted to the news of Russert's death.

Chuck Todd, NBC News's political director, whom Russert hired last year, looked stricken as referred to Russert as a “father figure.” A direct competitor, CBS's Bob Schieffer, who hosts “Face the Nation,” appeared on MSNBC and spoke warmly of Russert, whom he often saw this spring at Washington Nationals baseball games.

Though he was known for holding up a dry-erase white board on election night in 2000, Russert was a technophile who was clearly in his element with the 24/7 news cycle. His body was another matter. Russert was not exactly the picture of health, and on Friday Brokaw observed how, during the unexpectedly lengthy presidential primary season, his colleague had “worked to the point of exhaustion so many weeks.” Russert routinely appeared on all three news-oriented networks owned by NBC, ran the Washington bureau, provided analysis to MSNBC on primary and caucus nights and hosted a long-running interview show on CNBC.

NBC correspondent John Harwood related on MSNBC that earlier on Friday, he and Gerald Seib, co-authors of a new book, had taped an interview with Russert for CNBC, and afterward Seib had turned to him and said, “I don't think Tim is very well.” Russert had just returned from Italy, where he and his wife, Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, were celebrating their son Luke's recent graduation from Boston College.

The mayor of Buffalo, N.Y., where Russert grew up, ordered the flags at municipal buildings be lowered to half-mast in honor of its native son. Besides Orth and Luke Russert, he is survived by his father.

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Previously on TV Barn:

• I interviewed Tim Russert for Meet the Press at 60: The same, only completely different
• Russert: I'll go the Imus show if asked

Comments

[Marlene Kittel]

I just want to offer my condolences to Tim's family. As a fellow Buffalonian, I am proud to come from the same city as such a wonderful and honest man. It was an honor to watch his show every Sunday, and especially wonderful to hear him close with a resiliant "Go Buffalo Bills!" Tim Russert will be missed by so many.

[not a democrat but not a republican]

I was just a viewer of the news and someone who tried to make informed decisions. While I often totally disagreed with sometimes the substance of Tim Russert and sometimes the tactics. I always respected the man as doing what he felt was right in his own mind. I believe in a democracy if all people of all reasonable positions just acted from what they thought to be right, that some how a gestalt position forms that becomes the path the helps the country forge ahead and in many ways it is the genius of democracy. In that Tim was sound well meaning voice of democracy I believe that we have all lost something. I sort of thought of him as The O'reilly of the left. And coming from me that is not an insult but a compliment. because whether you like either man, both men attemped to fight vigorously but with a modicum of civility as well for their differing points of view. I think in particular the left will miss Tim point of view a great deal. But I think all americans can appreciate that we will all miss his talents to illuminate and often be the one galvanizing force that could drive home many of the lefts opinions so they made sense. Sense to people like me who are not ideologues for either the right or the left. but rather pragmatists with particular principled leanings that guided them. To his family and in particular his son who just graduated from College and his wife. I wish to give you my most respectful condolences. And I said before, though I was not a partisan fan I always had a sincere profound appreciation for media workers out there who did their best to add value to the marketplace of news, ideas and opinion. For Tim's Contribution, The Russert family can be extremely proud and know that many americans will mark his passing with sadness, respect and gratitude for what the legacy of contributions the public process of informed decision making in our country

[S Martin]

Tim Russert was my favorite journalist. I always loved seeing him. He was real and a good person. He wasn't an egotist like some of his colleagues are. he was just intersted in reporting the news. He will be sorely missed. I feel like a family member died.

[Maureen Huffman]

It is a sad day! I had such respect for Tim..I trusted him. I have cried for him and his family today. He was a very special man.
I send my condolences to his wife, son and his father.

[Allen]

i loved his show and his way of doing his dry erase board during gore and bush election.i always looked forward to his opinions.he will be missed.god bless your soul Tim.

[mary]

I am just a hard working American, living in Texas trying to make sense of this world. I can honestly say that I never formed a polital opinion or cast a vote that Meet the Press did not have an influence. I not only enjoyed watching Tim Russert, I respected him. I am so sorry that he is gone. He was, in "my" world. a great loss.
When I watch other political shows, there is always a sense of distance between the host and the issues that I have questions about. I never one time thought that Tim Russert forgot to ask the questions that matter to me.
I will pray for his family and their loss.

[Beverly Hodges]

Tim Russert gets to Heaven, quite unexpectedly, and decides to ask God, "Why now? Five months before the election of a lifetime? Why?"
God answers,
"Tim, my son, I tried to tell John and Bob Kennedy that there was a black man and white woman running for president and they did not beleive me. I needed you to tell them. And oh, by the way, M.L.K Jr.thinks I'm joking too."

God bless you up there, Tim. May your family find comfort and peace in knowing you were truly loved by so many who didn't even know you but depended on you every day.

[Harold]

He was even-handed and not a buffoon - high praise for someone in today’s media.

[renton]

Jim McKay and Tim Russert in one week?

What did we do to deserve that?

[nick c]

I grew up in Buffalo and met Tim on a few occasions what a delightful and great person he was. He will be greatly missed in America. He went to a rival HS and had a birthday the day after mine. I looked forward to seeing him on TV and hearing his take, he had the connection with the American People, someone who you could believe. I send my sympathy to his wife Maureen and son Luke and of course Big Russ. It just will not be the same anymore, we will all move on but we certainly will know what we have lost. Peace Tim I know your with our Heavenly Father today.
Nick C

[Ramesh Manghirmalani]

I am shocked, I just met Tim Russert three weeks ago in Washington , I am speechless at this tragedy and once again, shock and sadden. My sympathies are with his wife and son, who lost a whole lot more than the rest of us. God bless him and his family. America has lost a great man. His mind and soul was in America, and he was the most remarkable journalist in America. He will be missed.

Ramesh C. Manghirmalani,

[Damon]

Gosh, so young, so unexpected. I will miss Tim Russert. I have deep respect for him and his brand of journalism. My sincerest condolences go out to his family.

[Katelyn]

Even at the age of 12 I can vividly remember watching Tim and his erase board during the 2000 election. I recall thinking what a cool guy to be breaking this national event down to a white erase board. My heart truly aches for his family. God Bless Tim and all those who knew him. My prayers are with you!