Remembering Tim Russert

Posted by Jerome Cusson on 06.14.2008

My tribute to one of the great journalists of our time

In journalistic débuts of this kind many talk of principle-political principle, party principle-as a sort of steel trap to catch the public. We ... disdain ... all principle, as it is called, all party, all politics. Our only guide shall be good, sound, practical common sense, applicable to the business and bosoms of men engaged in every-day life.
-- James Gordon Bennett
1835, New York Herald



My name is Jerome Cusson. Many of you know me as someone who does reviews of television shows like Friends and South Park. Today though, I want to talk about Tim Russert. As all of you probably know, Russert died of a sudden coronary on June 13, 2008. He was a true journalist who embodied all of the things I want in a journalist. He was a gregarious gentlemen who seemed to respect the people he was interviewing, took time to care for his family, and believe what he was doing was right.

My favorite Russert moment was none of the thousands of interviews he did, although those were such a major part of a successful journalism career. It was that election night in 2000 when he took a whiteboard and predicted Florida as the key battleground state. For all the usage of computers, data, statistics, polls, and talking heads, it all came down to a man and his whiteboard.

He was a man who wore Buffalo on his sleeve. During football season, Russert would end the show he hosted by delivering a special message about his beloved Buffalo Bills. What many people will also remember is his 2004 best-selling book, Wisdom of our Fathers. It is both fitting and sad that Russert died just two days before Fathers' Day for the that best-selling book was about his love for his father, affectionately referred to as "Big Russ."

His career actually began in politics as he worked as the chief of staff for New York Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1977 until 1982. After that, he briefly spent time with future New York Governor Mario Cuomo before signing on with NBC in 1984. He helped arrange an interview with Pope John Paul in 1985. In 1991, Russert became the host of NBC's Meet the Press. He would go onto be the longest running host of that television program. He would contribute his voice to MSNBC and NBC on election nights.

As a journalist, I want to be half the man Russert was because he is one of the best I've ever witnessed. It's not just that journalistic standards are slipping. In an era where "gotcha" journalism and reporting on "entertainment news" had become cache, Russert was none of those things. He continued to his last days to work his butt off, and giving the subjects he interviewed the time to answer questions. Russert was never afraid to ask tough questions, but he did it with a sense of style that endeared him to those in Washington and viewers alike.

Russert ,of course, wasn't perfect. But what person is? He was a man who cared for his family and who I firmly believed did his best these last two decades to bring you the best political coverage on television. The United States has lost a gem in a cesspool of alleged journalists who like to yell and points fingers. I cannot claim to be a weekly viewer of Meet the Press. But I can say this 2008 political campaign will have a huge hole without Tim Russert.

Prayers and thoughts go out everyone in Russert's family. He will go down as one of the very best of all time. I can think of only one way to end this, not with a joke or something about Russert, but about journalism.

Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs of horror are still in the air. -Henry Anatole Grunwald