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During his life Tim Russert never let himself be the story. What Russert would not do in life, his colleagues at MSNBC have now granted him--he has become the story. He must be turning over in his grave!
I write this not to take anything away from the shock that Chris Matthews, Keith Obermann or Joe Scarbourgh have been through. As a viewer, I was taken in by Russert's wisdom and wit. Two days until Sunday is fine. But now after five days, it is a little much for MSNBC to cover the Tim Russert wake. Why don't we just open up the Capitol Building and put him in the rotunda!
Maybe the media mongels of MSNBC never got the memo regarding the first law of journalism: never let yourself become the story. Why? Because we lose perspective. It's that simple.
Rather than cover the Tim Russert wake, cover the real news. There are Taliban on the loose in Kandahar, there are floods in the Midwest, and there people reeling from the energy shock. And yes, there still is a campaign, which Russert was transfixed by. OK, run a snippet showing Bush-McCain or Obama visiting the Russert service, but don't run an on-location special with Obermann talking about Russert's love for sports.
It is time that we stop amusing ourselves to death, as Neil Postman said. It is time to wake up and show up for work, like Russert did every day. It's time to change ourselves and change America into the country it can be.
So now that Russert is gone, who will pick up his search for truth? Who will speak truth to power, by letting them see themselves?
URL: http://www.jaygary.com/tim_russert.shtml
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