While Russert is in the process of becoming a saint....

[nadinbrzezinski]

even before the body goes to the family for burial. we have some real news happening

A quake in Northern Japan... who cares it does not affect us... and some folks died there too

A landslide in China... sixteen people died too... my god... but they are fereigners.

Then we had an escape in a prison in Kandahar where some folks died, and 1500 prisoners escaped, among them 400 taliban

Of course there is the midwest... you think you know how bad it is... but it is WORST than you think. (we are talking tens of thousands who have been ahem displaced)

Oh and a town in Norcal was evacuated because of a fire. Just 10K people, nothing major.

Of course we could also mention the many food riots et al due to prices of fuel around the globe... just minor stuff

Just thought I'd mention some of the REAL HARD NEWS that has been thrown to the side while we have every newsman in the beltway have a very open wake, on national teevee. Hey, I want them to mourn, but please they have a job to do... and this is more than just annoying. This wall to wall coverage used to be reserved for heads of state that DIED while in office, or when we had a massive disaster affecting large swathes of the country... which I seem to remember we have currently ongoing.

Oh and this does not mean I wish any ill on the family, but can we get back to some real news? This is infotainment, purely infotainment, and a way to keep all of you distracted. Oh and that small unimportant disaster in the midwest, may matter to you when your corn and bread goes even higher. Something about crop failures, oh nothing to see here.

[Fox Mulder]

1. Oh, but we're supposed to respect him...

because he died, don't you know?

:eyes:

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Ok tuky, cookie, stop shredding those memos

there are pieces of paper everywhere... unreal how fast the parrots shred what they think is irrelevant

:-)

[Swamp Rat]

2. I want to know what is happening to my friends in Iowa.

I want to know if the Mississippi River will top the levees here and if we, too, will get flooded.

I WANT REAL NEWS!

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. So do I

Hugs

[OzarkDem]

3. Here in Ohio

State officials announced today the unemployment compensation fund is going broke.

Hell in a handbasket.

[Swamp Rat]

4. How is the weather there? Any flooding or tornados?

I turned on the Weather Channel and got 100% chance of Tim Russert.

[OzarkDem]

11. We've been lucky

Though we've had a lot of rain so far, its nothing like what the other states are experiencing. Just a lot of job losses from layoffs and plant closings. Auto, airlines, etc. announced about 10,000 job losses in the last few weeks.

[Swamp Rat]

14. Thanks for some REAL NEWS!

I nominate you for the new opening at NBC. You are apparently more qualified than the last guy.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. More dare I say it, REAL NEWS????????

Oh wait, I am supposed to rend my clothing and throw dirt on my hair.

My cockatiel shredded THAT MEMO

[kath]

5. amusing ourselves to death, nadin, amusing ourselves to death.

infotainment, indeed. It's pathetic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Death

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. And AAR did it as well, expected with Maddow but still

and with Malloy it was comical, but he also did it to a point

[Swamp Rat]

17. I am listening to Rachel give REAL NEWS right now about Cedar Rapids, I-80,

Iowa, the cresting Missouri River, news about Madison, WI... she is giving REAL NEWS a mile a minute on NOVA M right now.

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. She is, but the first hour was all timmy all the time

[Swamp Rat]

20. I skipped the first hour in anticipation of this.

Now I am happily listening to REAL NEWS for the first time in over a day.

I say give Rachel Maddow the Meet the Press spot. She'd kick Cheney's ass with her big "lesbian boots" in an interview. :D

[Bobbieo]

6. I thought 15 minutes on the NBC Evening News was Tribute enough

for Tim Russert. But, I was wrong - never did see any major news

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Hey Murrow didn't get more than five

and dare I say he was far more of a reporter than Timmy ever dreamt possible

[BlueStater]

21. Well, they didn't have 24 hour news channels when Murrow died, did they?

It's only one day, for Christ sakes. I don't see the big deal.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. Did you read the STORIES they are not covering

Thank you

Oh forgot, I need to rend my clothes and throw ashes to my hair... how long is the official wake?

[Kool Kitty]

10. This coverage of Tim Russert is unreal.

I do send my condolences to his family and friends. I did watch his show, but I think this wall-to-wall coverage is just a bit much. The items you mentioned in your post are the real news, and so much of it so terrible for so many. Just the weather situation in the midwest is horrifying. Thanks for the reality check. (And this is a shallow, off-message bit: when I was watching MTP last week, seeing Russert interview Scott McClellen, I was struck by how much they resembled each other.)

[indie_voter]

34. I agree. n/t

[shireen]

13. i'm also disturbed by the coverage ....

my condolences to his family, and i hope they have a chance to mourn his untimely death with peace and quiet.

Russert was a star journalist, and his passing is news. But not THE news. The over-coverage of his death diminishes the importance of other news stories, where people have also died; their lives were just as important. However, not only will they remain anonymous, there won't even be any mention of the news stories that led to their deaths. Instead, we have journalists covering the death of a journalist.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. It's beyond disturbing... 1984 and the telescreens now come

fully to mind, and the reactions of folks are even more disturbing...

HOW DARE I be critical of this?

Well, I like to know what is going on, not what they think I need to know.

There should be backlash to this

[Swamp Rat]

19. Have you seen "Idiocracy?"

FUX Studioz killed the promotion because it was too close to the truth (it made fun of FUX Noise).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. No, but I will have to track it down here

[Swamp Rat]

25. Get ready to laugh your ass off...

and maybe cry a little too, at the truth and irony of this silly little film, already a cult classic.

[TexasObserver]

22. NOOOoooo! Only Russert Talk!!

He was a good man. He died. He wasn't perfect. He sometimes was too soft on powerful people. He was too soft on the war.

But the fascination with self the media have is nothing short of masturbatory.

[underseasurveyor]

26. God i like your style

*the spot on* keep-on-task mistress. and i mean that very affectionately.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. thank you, I am just having a serious problem with this wall to wall coverage

[underseasurveyor]

29. it does wear thin after awhile i mean enough is enough

and i commend you for taking to task the real and most urgent life & death issues that real people in real time, NOW THIS SECOND, are facing.

There have been some truly great DUers over the years and you are definitely up there in that greatest list.

[MadBadger]

28. How do you expect NBC to handle it?

Basically a family member has died there today. He was their leader. And you want them to mention it quickly and move on to other news...just like that? I imagine today is extremely hard for them. They are all grieving and they deserve to have some time to grieve.

[Berry Cool]

32. Why, what's the matter with you, hmnnf?

You're supposed to climb aboard the Anti-NBC Piss and Moan Train. You know, because they're not giving us any REAL NEWS because those wusses are still IN MOURNING over their colleague who dropped dead on them without any warning. Shame on them. Didn't they realize he was fat and unhealthy and under stress and likely to go at any time? They should not have been surprised, and they should only be "so" sad, and they should only spend the correct, proper, DU-allotted amount of time on TV talking about it before they pull up their socks and GET ON WITH THE NEWS, don't you know??????

And, of course, if any of us dares to defend their actions for a moment, we must be wearing sackcloth and ashes ourselves, ready to throw ourselves on Timmeh's funeral pyre. How stupid we are, eh, to worship such a flawed man so much? I mean, for crying out loud, he wasn't a SAINT :sarcasm:

I think I need a break from this place. Death of any kind seems to bring out the worst in some people here. They think that any amount of time spent by a TV network in tribute to anyone, be he good, evil or something in between, is a "waste." If you dare to disagree, they accuse you of idolizing and fetishizing and worshiping the dead, and being evil enough to do so only AFTER they are dead.

It's not possible that your stance is something, anything, in between. Not here in the Land of Extremes, where you're either for us or agin' us.

I'm going to try to spend the next few hours breathing the air of the outside world. Should do me good.

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. When I was a medic we lost a veteran

he'd been working for the Mexican Red Cross for over ten years, week in and week out

He was a great training officer.... he was a personal friend

He was run over... while on a call, in another shift

You think we stopped working? In fact, do you think our patients would have been very appreciative if we stopped working? Oh yeah, so you guys lost a guy... we understand, we'll just seat over here, and wait for you guys to end your grieving process. :sarcasm:

When the President of our local chapter had a heart attack, he was worked on by medics and doctors... you think the hospital stopped working? Oh wait, we will close our doors while we give this man, who gave time and money, is buried...

NO.

We kept our brave face, and swallowed our feelings since OTHERS needed us to keep working

We gave these people their dues, in fact they received full honor, as in military honors, funerals, but we didn't stop working

Hell, after the funeral I responded to a call in full dress uniform, and trust me coraframes are a pain... to work in

This is what TRUE PROS do... you swallow your feelings, and continue to do what you need to do... and you honor people, but in their case you don't cancel the news.

Or are you telling me that the ten + soldiers who have died this month alone deserve less? Or what about the people who have died in the midwest? They were fathers., sons, mothers and fathers to somebody...

[silverojo]

30. You need to learn one thing about the media

If it doesn't happen in NYC, DC, or LA, it doesn't matter.

Once you understand that, you'll have a good grasp of the MSM.

I agree with you...it's OK to devote some time to someone who has just passed, but we need equal time for the other people in the USA and around the world, who are being displaced, injured, or killed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

38. i know exactly what they are, and it is part of the problem we are

having, in fact

[chill_wind]

31. Funny-- a few days ago, I remember there must have been about 750 DU threads

about Michelle asking why'd he. Fox news was the only one (as of then) that had given it even 2 minutes, but DU and a few other big blogs went on and on...

I remember at least a whole DU week of Rev Wright-- bawk-- Rev Wright REV WRIGHT!!! I could swear there was other world news that week, but that's what DU talked about. And talked about.

I could list a dozen other recent examples, but I guess all I'm saying is while the MSM may be excessive and narrow, just running in a constant loop in what it focuses on from day to day-- hell, pretty much EVERY DAY--- DU can be just as typical at times.

LOTS of news here:

http://news.google.com/ Top 3

Russert-- 2675 articles

Iowa-- 2523 articles

Habeas Corpus Ruling-- 2806 articles

[Donkeykick]

33. nadin:

I knew that they would do this sort of thing. Nothing like a little bit of ratings, huh. :eyes:

[Jawja]

35. Although I am sorry for Russert's family

and his colleagues at NBC and the Corporate Media in general, I am DISMAYED at the wall-to-wall coverage we are getting over the event. I and am particularly angry about the "what does this mean for America" and "great loss for America" talking point I've heard from various colleagues.

This is their opinion and they have a right to their opinion and since they were close to Russert as a person, I can understand it; but it is the projecting of their loss onto the public that disturbs me. I don't mean that viewers like me who enjoyed his commentaries, his program and his interviews, won't miss Tim Russert. I surely will. Particularly when it comes to election coverage and I will miss him in this historic year. I would miss any person who has contributed in a meaningful way to the national discourse as Russert surely has. Rest in Peace, Tim Russert.

HOWEVER, the notion that somehow America NEEDED and DEPENDED upon Tim Russert's opinion and analysis and grilling interviews - of Democratic candidates, no less (and America NEEDED 20 minutes of Reverend Wright questions into an interview of Obama) is absurd. The implication is the American People cannot form their own opinions by absorbing events and processing information. The implication is the American People depend on a TV talking head to determine what the focus should be and should not be in regard to what is and what is not a critical issue. That's why Dick Cheney went to Tim Russert and "Meet the Press" when he needed to reinforce the "we must invade Iraq" talking point and the "Iraq is going well" talking point; and I don't remember Russert spending 20 minutes challenging him on his lies.

I don't mean to diminish the accomplishments of Tim Russert. But I am SICK of the Corporate Media talking heads who over estimate their grand importance to America when they've been complicit in the theft of a Presidential election, complicit in enabling war crimes against the people of Iraq and complicit in the dismantling of civil rights enabled by international treaties and the U.S. Constitution because they know IT IS THEIR JOB TO TELL US WHAT IS IMPORTANT AND WHAT WE SHOULD THINK ABOUT IT instead of delivering the news and providing balanced editorial that truly informs the public. They are over doing the coverage of Russert's death because they want us to understand how important THEY are to US.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Head on nail

[Richardo]

36. If all that news has been 'thrown to the side' how do YOU know about it?

:shrug:

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. There is this little thing called the intertubes and a simple search feature

of FOREIGN news sites... even for Iowa. Sad, but the coverage IN THE MEXICAN press has been more extensive than in the US press...

That says it all

[Richardo]

41. I didn't even have to use the search feature for these:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/5837332.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5837653.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5838087.html

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5837229.html

That's one US media outlet, and all of those stories are on the front pages of the World or Nation sections. The Chronicle seems to have missed the China story, though, those rotters. I did not check the NY or LA Times, but I bet I find the story there.

I think the points are:

1) While certain sudden, unexpected events seem to monopolize the news for awhile, they really don't, and they certainly don't to the exclusion of other newsworthy events, and
2) I take your point about foreign news - the US media is NEVER that good at covering the rest of the world, but it has NOTHING to do with Russert coverage.

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. So essentially you have no problem having Russert treated as if he were a head of state?

Look this wall to wall coverage is apropo when a seating head of state dies, even bush... not a talking head

We will differ on this

But, I've met many a REAL journo in my career where I even got to play Public Information Officer (Talk about minding your Ps and Qs)... and the last thing any of them wants to become is the story.

And that is the point

[Autumn]

43. The late Tim Russert

sorry nothing to add, I just like saying that.