If It Was Sunday…

Last Updated on January 20, 2017

Two things generally happen when a well-known person dies.

He is mourned, his accomplishments noted, his humanity honored by some. He is insulted, his accomplishments slighted, his humanity devalued in favor of getting partisan or personal grievances at the top of the page by others. The former is appropriate, and the latter is not…at least right away.

It doesn’t take long to find a lot of sadness and a lot of accolades for Tim Russert, NBC Washington Bureau Chief, moderator of Meet the Press, and the man responsible for orchestrating NBC’s government and political news coverage.

There’s also the less-common snippet of slights, pointing out this occasion or that occasion when he didn’t ask enough questions, or didn’t needle one person as much as he seemed to needle someone else, or didn’t sufficiently “skewer” someone the commenter didn’t like.

I had a great deal of respect for Russert.&nbsp  I don’t watch many political shows, because most of them aren’t news programs so much as opinionated crap or pointless yelling back and forth that reminds me of having a meal with my father’s side of the family:&nbsp  the arguing turns my stomach.&nbsp  But I watched Meet the Press.&nbsp  I was always impressed with Russert’s ability to pull quotes and video clips of his interview subjects, pointing out where they had previously told a different story or made a different promise.

The man did his homework.&nbsp  Far more homework than some interviewers ever bother to do.

No reporter can ever ask “enough” questions.&nbsp  Interviews would never end.

No reporter can ever be prepared for every lie, every distortion, and every little white lie.

And contrary to what some politicos might think, it isn’t a reporter’s job to “rake someone over the coals.”&nbsp  They’re supposed to ask the questions, let the public hear the answers, and ultimately let people judge for themselves who’s right and who’s wrong.&nbsp  When it’s clear that someone is wrong, and a reporter can prove it beyond a doubt, he should.&nbsp  Otherwise, there comes a point where the public has to spend a little bit of time actually thinking about what’s going on, rather than being spoon-fed what they should or shouldn’t believe.

If you’re looking for someone to think for you, tune in to mindless commentary like Rush Limbaugh.&nbsp  No thinking person can truly believe everything people like him say.

For the rest of us, there’s a big void in the world of journalism tonight.&nbsp  We’ll miss a tough interviewer who did ask tough questions and tougher follow-ups.&nbsp  And Sundays just won’t be the same.