A Brief Note on the Passing of Tim Russert

I just finished journaling about why news of Russert’s death affected me so much; after all, I knew I respected him, but I had no idea I’d become so attached as to feel the loss this intently.  Here’s what I came up with:

I love politics, and no one made sense of politics the way Russert did.  On MSNBC’s coverage of the sad news tonight, one contributor called Russert the “Explainer in Chief.”  That captures it perfectly.  While I enjoy listening to and watching many political commentators, I always waited to hear what Tim thought about something.  Not that I necessarily adopted his view of things—I differed with him at the beginning of the Iraq War for example—but I always took his analysis into account and gave it a little more weight than other people’s. 

Another person who paid tribute to Russert on air tonight was Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of the Washington Post.  Bradlee called Russert a consummate professional, and hearing his comments began to help me understand Russert’s impact on me.  Bradlee’s name was revered in the Fifield household growing up, and he represented all that journalism “used to be,” according to my parents: objective, hard-hitting, and truth-seeking, rather than sensational, partisan parroting.  That sense of obligation to the facts was why my mom was initially drawn to journalism, and I know she always admired the way Bradlee handled the Watergate coverage.  I guess I’d never really realized how much those values and that admiration had been passed on to me—except that for me it resided in large part in Tim Russert.  Mom and Dad gave me such a great sense of skepticism about agendas and spin, and encouraged me to think for myself.  That directly informs how I teach, how I judge the media and politicians, and in essence how I approach every other aspect of my life.  The emphasis my parents placed on honesty, dignity, and being an informed, well-rounded individual is a part of everything I do, and I hope I’ll share those same core values with my kids some day. 

 

Now, why am I including this on our blog?  I certainly don’t plan to include all of my journal entries on this space (in case you were worried!).  The reason is that I absolutely love watching campaign and election coverage, and my main consolation for being overseas for this year’s general election had been that I’d be able to see clips of Meet the Press and other Russert commentary online.  He was always able to frame election coverage with historical perspective, which I think is so important, and he truly seemed to value the facts more than any political party.  I think that now there will be a sense that I’m not getting the whole story, that I’ll wonder what angles I’m missing on an issue or event.  What a legacy that is: being trusted to explain the truth.