Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Incestuous and Claustrophobic

I'm sorry about Tim Russert's untimely death, but he was not a great journalist. He was a lawyer and former political operative. His "gotcha" style and celebrity status were not good for journalism. I never watched him -- I really don't care what Washington insiders say about Washington.

Here's a good take on the ridiculous media reaction (especially MSNBC -- jeebus, there was real news happening Saturday and Sunday, you assholes!!!) to Russert's death from Tim Rutten in the LA Times:

Watching the cable news networks in the hours after his death, one was struck by the outpouring of admiration and affection from across the political spectrum and from journalistic colleagues of every sort. It was impossible not to be struck—once again—by just how incestuous and claustrophobic the Washington-based nexus of politics and journalism has become.


So again, I feel for his family and their terrible loss, but it was not worth the outpouring of media coverage and the canonization of Tim Russert.

As for "Meet the Press," wouldn't it be nice if they returned to a panel format, rather than have another celebrity "journalist" host. Wouldn't it be nice to have a variety of expertise and opinion questioning guests. Yeah, it would be nice. Don't hold your breath.

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