Overkill
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Had I met Tim Russert, we'd have talked about sports, upstate New York and maybe some rock concerts we both attended back in the day. Russert seemed an amiable, affable fellow. He was clearly a man who valued being liked. That's why he'd have been as cordial as possible as he fled from me as soon as I changed the subject to Daniel Patrick Moynihan and benign neglect or the police/prison industrial state or the plight of workers everywhere or genuine green activism or the putrid stench of corporatism that permeates the mainstream media and the politicians upon whom journalists are supposed to be reporting.
Tim Russert stayed busy, frenetically directing our attention toward every diversionary flare fired skyward by the murky figures who truly command and control this nation. In a world of amazing stories, all he covered were horse-race politics, scandals du jour and of course, the passing of "national figures." By doing this he showed himself to be worthy of full membership in the Gladhand Social Club that is Washington D.C. When he passed, he was commemorated with the kind of fanfare reserved for the exclusive crowd that sits so close to the action that it can't ever be relied upon for decent perspective.
The media wags that survive Russert are incapable of seeing the absurdity of their overkill of his death. An hour into the maudlin, endless "tribute" to Russert, I found myself relieved that his wife and son were in Italy and beyond viewing range of a shameless parade of electronic narcissists. The surviving talking heads busily inflated their deceased colleague beyond any recognizable proportion. They had more than enough hot air for the task.
As floodwaters rose, wars raged and the economy nose-dived, the MSNBC on-camera wake went on and on and on with nary a mention of the rest of the world. After a few hours, it became rather clear that there wasn't a lot to say about the man except that he was well thought of by friends and co-workers; he enjoyed his life; and he prepared questions that he then asked of the power elite -- who looked upon him as if he were one of them
Again and again we heard about the "likable" Russert. Well excuse me, but I want my journalists to be disliked by at least some people. I want them to be despised by those whose scams they exposed, whose misdeeds they brought to light. As the televised condolences continued, even Dick Cheney spoke well of Tim Russert. It did not color the late TV host in glory.
Russert was beloved for being a nice guy who never overlooked the small talk. He inquired after kids and families and talked sports just like a regular guy. Everyone MSNBC wheeled out to praise Russert referenced his working class roots. After a few dozen mentions it became obvious that his fellow millionaires were shocked that the son of a schlub had actually succeeded in the United States. At times it seemed like these power elitists were saying they still loved him despite the dirty, dirty circumstances from which he arose.
Many of these people referred to Russert as a "journalists' journalist" and as "the most important person in the Washington media," and it's likely they believed what they were saying. If Russert deserved the title of Washington Journalist of the Era, it sure was a nasty thing to point out about someone whose corpse had yet to cool. Because during Russert's reign as NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and Meet the Press host, about the only thing politicians were held accountable for was one blow job. Other than that, the treasury has been privatized, our country has been marched into two violent quagmires, the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten stomped, and the Bill of Rights has been shredded and tossed as confetti at a tickertape parade celebrating jingoism.
True to his roots, Russert worked hard -- he worked hard for the man who let him sit in the private dining room and taught him which fork to use for the salad. But what was his job beyond fitting in? And did he even know he was doing it? It always seemed to me that his job was to appear to be a tough journalist while never actually scratching the surface of what was really going on. For doing this he got status, celebrity and wealth. Again and again his response was to say "what a country!" But he never probed very deeply into the country that allowed his hometown of Buffalo to oxidize. Speaking of the upstate NY city, Russert was all Chamber of Commerce and professional sports booster but never one to draw attention to the crushing poverty found in our nation's second poorest city. Russert seemed to think enthusiastic boosterism was all Buffalo needed and that's all it ever got from its favorite son.
To speak up for his impoverished and forgotten hometown by specifically indicting the corporate greed that consumed it and left it to rot in toxic disrepair, would be to bite the hand that was tossing him the filet mignon nuggets. And so hardworking and likable Russert found a middle ground. He didn't expose the truth about his hometown but instead put forth a syrupy narrative about the spirit of its community. This fit nicely with the rest of his work, spreading myths that either overrated or overlooked reality. These myths are best placed under the label of "conventional wisdom" and Tim Russert was our nation's largest repository of such nonsense.
Russert's Meet the Press could have been a great program and a wonderful exercise in journalism. Instead it was a weekly roundup of the usual suspects with the usual pat answers. Why didn't working class Russert regularly feature labor leaders on his program? Why didn't he ever interview popular revolutionary leaders from abroad? Why did he never bring on members of the Iraq Vets Against the War? Instead we got a steady diet of Bob Doles, Dick Cheneys, Terry McAuliffes and Joe Bidens. Otherwise, how could those guys have ever hoped to get their message out to the American people?
Russert provided a Sunday morning showcase for every official cover story disseminated by the D.C powers that be. He believed those stories just as he did when he bought the saddlesoap George W. Bush was selling about WMD's. Did you? I didn't for a second and I don't have the full resources of NBC News at my beck and call. If we wonder why it's easy for shadowy figures in Washington to steal everything that isn't bolted down and then go to work with the bolt-cutters, we need look no further than Tim Russert. Because he was easily distracted. All you had to do was bring up the Buffalo Bills or ask him who made the best corned beef sandwich on Capitol Hill and Russert would be off and running, showing off his regular guy roots as he pontificated about professional sports, greasy sandwiches or the sacrosanct status of anyone hiding behind the flag.
I think it was Andrea Mitchell who said Russert's eyes would tear up whenever he heard the national anthem. Unfortunately his emotion came for all the wrong reasons because Russert believed in and sold America the Exceptional when he should have been digging for the real stories so vital to people from Buffalo to Baghdad. Stories worthy of tears.
And so MSNBC is heading full bore into another day of mythologizing a nice guy who failed the very working people to whom he paid so much lip service. The tribute is meant to remind us that Mr. Russert and all talking heads are more important than regular people. Maybe now we'll learn to appreciate and trust these people before we tragically lose another one of them!
The Russertathon establishes that talking heads matter more than many outstanding people, too. (At least as far as other talking heads are concerned.) In 500 years, who do you think will be considered more significant for his contribution as a chronicler of this age we live in? Tim Russert or Kurt Vonnegut? If Vonnegut got five minutes coverage on MSNBC when he died, I missed four minutes and forty-five seconds of it. Russert, on the other hand, has already had 30 times more airtime devoted to his life and death than all of the 129 journalists who have been killed in Iraq combined. It's exactly the kind of reporting we've come to expect during the era of a nice guy named Tim Russert.
UPDATE Sun Evening -- Thanks for all the comments. When I checked MSNBC today, the Russerthon was still going strong. I swear these people are just about talking about canceling the election because of how daunting it will be to sort things out without Tim Russert's guidance.
Another thing...How inappropriate was it to have his doctor on just hours after Russert died disclosing details about his patient's health? It was intrusive, inappropriate and creepy.
I was no fan of Russert but this crap has not been a tribute, it's been an assault, a propaganda campaign. I feel sorry for him because this has been a violation. It's gotten to the point where it would be better if the blathering talking heads did what should be done at an Irish wake-- drink. Their behavior couldn't become any more embarrassing and maybe a little truth would leak out.
Honestly, I wasn't going to write anything about this. But then it was still going on 24 hours later. At that point, the lack of any sense of proportion and the gauche and maudlin exploitation of the sudden death of someone by people who should have mourned privately, and with some dignity, demanded comment.
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COMMENT ON THIS
Jimmy J. Pack Jr.Friday, June 27th 2008 3:11PM
Brilliant. Accurate.
Smedley ValetFriday, June 20th 2008 12:41PM
to Phoenix woman
LeonardFriday, June 20th 2008 11:31AM
"I'm alright, Jack."
This explains why they go on and on. The mourning media stars are all drawing down huge salaries and sitting on huge piles of money. What they did to get where they are and stay there worked for them and it worked for Tim.
If I were one of them I believe I would find it almost impossible to feel anything other than pride in my work and appreciation for Tim's.
American society looks eminently fair to them because it has been good to them personally. NO need to find fault! And so Tim didn't and they won't either.
Such is human nature.
ADD YOUR COMMENT
alice copeland brownThursday, June 19th 2008 5:03PM
somebody tell me why it's oK to lower the boom on a creep like Russert some TBD time after his death, but not RIGHT after it. It somehow seems incredibly dishonest.
He was a go along to get it along, a spineless, Cheney suckup.
And the greatest disappointment is Keith Olbermann going along with the throng.
John ReedWednesday, June 18th 2008 9:22PM
I never liked the son of a bitch. He was revolting, full of ego, full of shit and typical. How many local tv "news" people use him as a role model for how to act -- get involved in local charities to advance your station and your career. I never could stand to watch him so I won't miss him but I am sure glad Barry Crimmins is around and I hope he's taking good care of his health because we need him badly.
MillerWednesday, June 18th 2008 10:51AM
Over the past eight years I have gradually lost the ability to feel anything except contempt and a desire for retribution for anyone who has willingly participated in the Bush administration's brutal assault on this country and the world generally. Just as I've often remarked that I no longer recognize this country, the Bush years have changed me into a person I would never before have thought possible. I'm not happy about it, but I'm so beyond anger now and my heart is so hardened toward all of those who have either actively contributed or passively enabled the Bush agenda that I will take any misfortune that might befall one of them as a small victory for us. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that this was how I reacted to Russert's passing. To me, he was a willing accomplice and provided cover for them when necessary. That he will be personally unable to now enjoy the money, lifestyle and prestige that he wanted in exchange for that does not bother me at all. I do still have enough humanity left to forgive the McClellan's and others who have sought to redeem their involvement, but Russert showed no such inclination, personally or as head of the DC News Bureau at NBC. I'm also not buying the "whatta nice guy" baseline attribute. Nice guys don't sell out their own countrymen for policies designed to further enrich the already wealthy and powerful.
ADD YOUR COMMENT
John A. Joslin -DetroitTuesday, June 17th 2008 11:20PM
While according due respect to Mr. Russert's big-hearted approach to pitching in & helping out w/childrens' charities... I'm quite sure he's not the only major public figure to have so distinguished himself. Come to think of it , bigshots aside,the late Mr. Russert was in pretty good if extremely crowded company ! Like about 99.95% of all Americans who find ways ,big & small to help out childrens' charities in any way they can. Anytime they can.
What's peculiar and poignant about this is if you've ever paid 8 bucks for a plate of bad spaghetti at a local VFW hall or someplace in a desperate attempt to help an even more desperate family try to raise a FAST $175,000 bucks so they can get treatment STARTED for their cancer stricken child, you've got to be among the millions of normal bingo-playing , baby tickling, marriage prone Americans who are metaphorically DYING for a big-hearted, Big Media guy like Tim Russert to kindly but very firmly put THE Big Question to one of the Big Cheese political chameleons who spend a lot of time sunbathing on their shows... "Why is it that sick children who are not LUCKY enough to have been born in Finland, Spain, France , Canada, Cuba, Great Britain,Italy,Norway, Germany, Monaco, Luxembourg , Sweden, or you-name-it have to sell hot-dogs and 50-50 raffle tickets to try to SAVE themselves after their parents have sold everything they own to satisfy the Board of Directors at Enormo-Korp Family Hospital L.L.C. that little Johnny truly deserves a crack at the best medical care money can buy now available for a limited time only, maybe !?
In other words, if the next " Tim Russert " God willing, musters the cojones to camera-corral every guest candidate & Congress person and demands to know why the fuck they haven't backed a "Single -Payer National Health Insurance Plan" for this sad-assed country , and also when the fuck do they plan to get off their plump behinds and start doing so... then that " Tim Russert " will have done more for kids in 17 minutes than most of us will do in millions of lifetimes of helping out with childrens' charities.
JaneTuesday, June 17th 2008 8:51PM
Wow. What a lot of meanness! Really impressive.
Here's the way life works: People are have babies, get married, die, take their kids to Little League games, and play bingo. All this takes place against a backdrop of terrorism, global warming, and income inequality, but somehow we have baby showers, wedding parties, and funerals anyway.
Russert may not have done all he could have (or, indeed, anything) to reform the corporate media, but he did more good in the world than I expect most of us have or will, starting w/ the raising of millions for children's charities, something you might have known about if you'd listened to the coverage rather than simply noting its duration.
Jane, Tim Russert really could have helped children by using his forum to demand answers from the power elite about why so many children need charity.
Russert raised lots of money for the Catholic Church. As a former altar boy, child abuse survivor and children's rights and safety advocate, I'd never raise a nickel for that criminal cult, precisely because I do care about children.
That said, if you read what I wrote, I made it clear that I believed Russert was a nice fellow. It's really too bad he died at a relatively early age and in such a sudden fashion.
He was a nice guy but the bad guys walked away with the store he was minding. That needs to be noted while his cronies are canonizing him on a telethon.
Thanks for commenting,
Barry
Jill MTuesday, June 17th 2008 5:11PM
Thanks for this post. Sometimes I feel like an alien - MSNBC goes on for days on end, and no one seems to think it's odd. Then I come here and see I'm not the only one who thinks it was creepy and self serving overkill.
(Found you through The Field)
ADD YOUR COMMENT
CATHERINETuesday, June 17th 2008 2:31PM
Barry,
Very well said. I was aghast that it went on more than a few hours that evening. Have they no sense of decency and respect for others who have died - and many in the name of "defending our country: after the illegal invasion. I only hope that the MSM is required to change if Obama gets elected. And for that exact reason, they will do anything they can to see that he doesn't get elected.
Eric HansenTuesday, June 17th 2008 11:25AM
Given the amount of coverage, I wouldn't be surprised if someone called for Russert to lie in state under the Capital dome [as opposed to those merely lying there].
Monday evening and even The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were more than generous in their tributes to Tim Russert. Of course, he had graced them with his presence so they had no reason to personally dislike him.
Tuesday morning and Russert is still being mentioned in passing on local New York City news. However, Willie Randolph being fired from the Mets, and Tiger Woods winning the US Open seem to be the big news of the day. . .at least until they have footage of the memorial service to be held in Washington.
Greg S.Tuesday, June 17th 2008 8:52AM
Russert was a nice guy. He was also one of the multi-million dollar media elites (he'll be missed this summer in Nantucket by Jack Welch, Bob Wright, Chris Matthews, John Kerry, and the other Nantucket nabobs).
Neither quality is a plus on the resume of a member of the free press. The endless eulogies in the mainstream media for Mr. Russert say a lot about where this country is right now.
ADD YOUR COMMENT
ZULU COCONUTTuesday, June 17th 2008 1:59AM
The last time I caught Russert on tv was the night Obama clinched the nomination. "I wish I could be teaching in an inner city school tomorrow morning," Tim declared with typical bug-eyed glee. Falser words have seldom been spoken.
DottieMonday, June 16th 2008 11:45PM
With his glad handing, gift giving and guffaws, Russert was more of a practiced politician than a journalist. In fact, Russert main talent was espousing the doctrine of Washington Beltway. Elucidating the public about the motives of its players always came second with Russert.
Laraine FlemmingMonday, June 16th 2008 8:23PM
You are my hero. It's terrible that Tim Russert died so suddenly, but his journalism did the country a disservice and I'm horrified at the way it has been endlessly celebrated. MSNBC in particular has been disgusting and praising Russert is another way of patting themselves on the back for a job well done. I think Bill Moyers did it just right. The program ended with Russert's name and the dates of his life with no long eulogies to his greatness, the kind of eulogies a Moyers would deserve and probably never will get.
ADD YOUR COMMENT
Libby SpencerMonday, June 16th 2008 8:21PM
Brilliant post Barry. I can't believe it's going into its third day. There's a lot of us here who feel for the family but are not grieving any imaginary loss to real journalism.
Glenn CondellMonday, June 16th 2008 7:25PM
Some high quality ranting here recently, this being one of the best. The drivel and the drool for Russert far surpasses that produced for that angry little potato Michael Kelly, and I was tolerably appalled by that.
Phoenix WomanMonday, June 16th 2008 7:16PM
30 times as much on-air coverage as the 129 journalists killed in Iraq? Seriously?
Got link? (Sadly, this really doesn't surprise me, but I'd like a nice link demonstrating this to be so.)
ADD YOUR COMMENT
uncle buckMonday, June 16th 2008 7:13PM
"Diana":
Sorry, but when someone in Tim Russert's postion of power and authority abuses that position to the tune of enriching himself through "fees" taken from political/corporate clients he regulary shilled for, while assisting the lying regulars - such as the sitting Vice President - guesting on "his" shows in their corrupt, misanthropic endeavors that have directly resulted in incalculable suffering and loss of human life, than the tears being publicly cried for him by his professional friends and colleagues are crocodile ones.
If there is a personal note of tragedy here it is that he was, presumably unable to make a full confession of his sins before he died, and did not have the opportunity to receive the Last Rites of his Faith. Other than that....
May God have mercy on his soul, because few here will.
Diana ComerMonday, June 16th 2008 4:15PM
I agree with much of your criticism of Russert, "Meet the Press", and the MSM, but I disagree that it's been overkill. I heard people say that about the coverage of JFK, Jr's death, Princess Di's death, and so on, and I disagree with the word "overkill" when it comes to grief sparked by an untimely death of a beloved public figure. There's a purpose to talking and talking about the person. The MSM is full of massive egos, I agree, but these people are part of the American scene, and thus part of "the family". I didn't watch Russert every Sunday, and he wasn't my favorite "questioner", but I felt a huge ache as soon as I saw the news, and I still feel sad about it. Because of the intimacy of television, we feel that we know him, and the MSM talking heads we see grieving on camera really ARE grieving. I don't begrudge them that. I think we should give them the benefit of being human, otherwise aren't we just being as arrogant and cynical as they can be?
FapricotMonday, June 16th 2008 12:44PM
The Mainstream Media is using Russert's death as a tribute to itself. May the Mainstream Media die as young as Tim Russert!
ADD YOUR COMMENT
LisaMonday, June 16th 2008 11:57AM
Agree about OVERKILL and also with all those who have commented about the lack of similar emotional outpouring for soldiers and civilians who have been losing their lives (young and old) in Iraq!
John SladeMonday, June 16th 2008 11:18AM
Excellent overview. I'd never watched - seen him on the youtubes with a couple of hardball questions, a bunch of softball questions. Dick Cheney's endorsement I knew about.
TedMonday, June 16th 2008 9:13AM
"Vonnegut".
(sorry, couldn't find spellcheck!)
ADD YOUR COMMENT
TedMonday, June 16th 2008 9:11AM
Great post, and great comments.
Reading THESE almost brought tears to my eyes.
Any questions remaining on who owns Big Media??
I would only add this, in the "taste" department: imagine the pressure on his family being placed as we speak, by GE/NBC execs, to have a public memorial service - ala Peter Jennings - at a famous Manhattan Catholic edifice. (Will St. Patrick's will do?)
Assuming his wife is old-school Roman Catholic, doing this for all the "swells" is not going to be an easy thing to swallow. THEY won't stop to consider that we are afterall, considering the death of someone's husband, father, etc.
One more point about Death and our Culture: What would the Bigs reaction have been, had a 58 year-old man in his position taken his own life, instead of dying from "natural" causes? Something the great Kurt Vonegutt considered a few times in his novels....
GailyMonday, June 16th 2008 8:21AM
Good Lord. It's Monday and MSNBC is into its 3rd day of "Rembering Tim Russert".
EdMonday, June 16th 2008 12:51AM
Tim Russert is being damned by deafening praise. Thanks, Barry, for putting things more in perspective.
ADD YOUR COMMENT
FendergalSunday, June 15th 2008 11:40PM
Thanks for peeling back the layer of postmortem shellac. I always thought of Russert as the ultimate team player, which is why the MSM and their handlers are so teary-eyed.
JawboneSunday, June 15th 2008 6:58PM
By the way, what does Lawrence O'Donnell mean when, in defence of Russert's now-notorious fall 2002 interview with Dick Cheney, he reminds us that at least we have Cheney's comments on the record and thus Tim fulfilled his obligations as a journalist? On the record for what, pray tell? A war crimes tribunal? And one final question: what self-respecting journalist wrtes a book in glowing tribute to his father anyway? Cheapjack Freudian though it ineffably is, Russert's failings - or strengths, depending on how one elects to see it - as a member of the Fourth Estate can surely be linked back to his relationship with his distant, WWII vet dad: the eagerness not only to please power but to become powerful himself; the sentimentilizing of military might; the hunger for fatherly counsel so ravenous that it ultimately left him utterly incapable of distinguishing between the hoariest of cliches and genuine wisdom. There are no atheists in foxholes, indeed.
JawboneSunday, June 15th 2008 6:16PM
Under Tim Russert's stewardship, "Meet the Press" was an info-mercial for power, pure and simple, with Russert assuming the role of the fake journalist first skeptical then amazed at whatever bunko product or cocamamie get-rich-quick scheme the shill of the week (McCain, Liberman, Biden, etc.) was hard-selling.
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OpheliaSunday, June 15th 2008 2:51PM
I honestly never thought of these issues when I heard of the passing of Russert. I felt sorry for this family and friends and collegues. I really didn't have a background of Russert as I am 'new' to the political scene. Thanks for opening my eyes Barry.
Joel WiensSunday, June 15th 2008 1:08PM
Thanks, Barry, for a great post. It's hard to throw down honest to goodness criticism when someone dies, but someone with such a public face needs to have his eulogy balanced out publicly. Like when the father everyone always "liked" has a son who has the courage to stand up during the eulogy and say, "You know, my Dad was actually an asshole, and he really, really hurt me." Russert, as John Stewart might say, "hurt America" with his affable acceptance of the outrageousness of reality.
CansoSunday, June 15th 2008 12:31PM
Well said, Barry. I heard the news on NPR and knew enough not to turn on the television. Cowardice seems to be on full display this week--from this piece to Al Giordano and The Field, to Glen Greenwald's piece on the cowardice of Congress. I just hope that more people notice the bust-out.
ADD YOUR COMMENT
JoySunday, June 15th 2008 12:20PM
How very true. I also found his journalistic skills lacking. I'm sure he was likable enough, good father, good son, good husband, etc. But this coverage on MSNBC is absolutely maudlin. I feel sorry for his family as I know the devastation when you send someone off to work in the morning and they never come home again. But let his family and friends mourn him privately, I don't feel a need to be a part of it. Why is it that some people feel as if they have to be a part of a mass grieving for celebrities when there is no personal connection at all? I guess it's the hype of the media coverage.