Pop Smart - Message to the media on Tim Russert’s death: Get over it

As tactless and morbid as it might sound, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who in just a couple days grew weary (and a bit wary) of the media, ahem, overkill coverage of Tim Russert’s death. But here comes Slate’s Jack Shafer, doing the dirty work and calling out the media (print and electronic) for its incessant coverage of Russert’s untimely passing last Friday due to a heart attack. Here’s Shafer’s most astute observation …

I wonder whether the media grievers gave a moment of thought to how this Russert torrent they produced played with viewers and readers. Did the grievers really think Russert was so important, so vital to the nation’s course, and such an elevated human being that he deserved hour upon hour of tribute?

There’s also nice pulled quotes from the New York Times’ Mike Liebovich’s remembrance, which fairly and objectively points out some of Russert’s possible flaws, including my favorite: “Mr. Russert liked to seem sheepishly above-it-all, but was also as acutely status-conscious, befitting the local water.”

What irked me most about Russert was what felt like more than a newsman’s obsession with politics as gamesmanship (a flaw he shared with another former political operative, George Stephanopoulos). His Red State/Blue State carping during the 2002 mid-term elections practically helped make the terms mainstream, which is a shame considering how that kind of jargon has dumbed us all down.