Russert

I don't think I've ever watched an episode of Meet the Press.

I've been only vaguely aware of who was hosting any given presidential debate.

But all the same I've always had a soft spot for Tim Russert, based on what little I've known or heard or assumed over the years. That he was a tough, unsparing interviewer; that he didn't take no, or an unrelated talking point, for an answer; that he was revered by the people I knew in journalism, people I figured would know.

So I was sorry and shocked to see that he had died today, suddenly and unexpectedly. And moved to see Tom Brokaw crying as he reported it. And stunned to see the outpouring of the press in the hours following the first announcement. This event reminds me of the humanity of "the press". Not just because one of its big faces has just proven its mortality, but because seeing the completely over-the-top, head-of-state funeral quality of the coverage reminds me that the people in the news business, like the people in any business, know each other, know each other's spouses and kids, like and kid and goad and care about and mourn each other. And because they happen to have a very large microphone held to them, and because this is a huge event for them personally, this becomes a national news story. But really what it seems like, to me, is as though a family is in mourning, and they happen to have a bunch of cameras on them.

JEK
Admirer of those who make a lot of their lives, and are loved for it