The 96-hour orgy of navel-gazing, unseemly on-camera veneration that attended Tim Russert's untimely death was not enough, nor was the accelerated career advancement afforded his son. Nope—now Russert's old NBC News office will become a museum exhibit.
Deceased NBC newsman Tim Russert's father, "Big Russ," has died. He was 85.
In your finally Friday media column: Haaretz gets poetic, the Boston Globe gets profligate, Tim Russert gets remembered, and the newsy porn magazines get downsized:
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--xDdyK4F1--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18s5s22kdrm4hjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--mUgKenxf--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/18s5s22kdrm4hjpg.jpg, (medium)])
The Si Newhouse School's journalism awards are next month, and the mood at the ceremony could quickly get uncomfortable. Starting with Arianna Huffington getting a Lifetime Achivement award that last went to her bitter nemesis.
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--kHiJwEQA--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18m7rq7ze4jofjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ImPHiDRD--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/18m7rq7ze4jofjpg.jpg, (medium)])
People across the political spectrum had mixed feelings about Tim Russert, the recently deceased former host of Meet The Press. But whether you thought he was the toughest interviewer in DC or a toadying cock-gobbler to power, you had to admit that he probably got his job based on a genuine zeal for reporting, rather…
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--7ADMQ8U9--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18s56dpuh7lbqjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--dAvkw-Uh--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/18s56dpuh7lbqjpg.jpg, (medium)])
The Huffington Post reported David Gregory will take over for Tim Russert as permanent moderator of Meet The Press after beating out finalists Andrea Mitchell, Gwen Ifill and Chuck Todd. NBC told Politico, "I don't know where they are getting this," and Gregory's agent would neither confirm nor deny to the Observer. …
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ZHNekcdW--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18s51k53komydjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1Jfq7DF5--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/18s51k53komydjpg.jpg, (medium)])
It's just a brief item, reporting that NBC chief Jeff Zucker was spotted with "old pal Katie Couric huddling over dinner at Elio's." But Page Six's sighting of the CBS Evening News anchor with her old Today boss will inevitably stoke further speculation about the possibility she might take over for Tim Russert at…
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--M7CL2BAy--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/17m4jxpfg4fxjjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--T13e6Kkf--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/17m4jxpfg4fxjjpg.jpg, (medium)])
The New Yorker published its profile of Arianna Huffington. Though disappointingly far from the juicy takedown we hoped for, it does contain a few interesting nuggets. We learn, for example, that the Republican-divorcée-turned-internet-publisher bizarrely "hides" all three of her BlackBerrys in her bathroom at night,…
"NBC News’ strategy in hiring young Luke Russert is now clear: whenever anything happens, Brian Williams can ask Luke what his dead father thinks about it." [Wonkette]
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--4YBcCdnx--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/17m343lz5cmpmjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Do3Eaprk--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/17m343lz5cmpmjpg.jpg, (medium)])
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--q8BTkfMW--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/17m3iaoy7oxgljpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Ku_w_6tQ--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/17m3iaoy7oxgljpg.jpg, (medium)])
Lewis Lapham's forthcoming Harper's column on Tim Russert is not entirely unexpected, given the cranky literary liberal's public pronouncements on the late host of Meet The Press. But Lapham, sometimes slammed as insufferable bore, has spun a compelling essay out of his rough initial pronouncement that "1,000 people…
"I have big shoes to fill." Meet The Press hosting gig still unsettled. [TV Decoder]
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--PmVgYC2W--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/17m2t1xargaoijpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--T4zrRROj--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/17m2t1xargaoijpg.jpg, (medium)])
It was less than three years ago that Boston College student Luke Russert, in an indiscretion not uncommon among underclassmen, posted to Facebook pictures of himself sitting in a hottub, surrounded by girls in bikinis. He graduated from that same school this past May and, before the end of the following month, some…
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--M-F32xha--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/17m2t0rv54wdojpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--PaB8YglL--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/17m2t0rv54wdojpg.jpg, (medium)])
Following the death of NBC's Tim Russert, White House correspondent David Gregory was considered to be on the shortlist to succeed him on Meet The Press. Gregory is known for aggressively questioning White House officials and at one point so upset Bush press secretary Tony Snow that Snow accused him of partisanship, a…
Keith Olbermann and Rupert Murdoch's media empire keep adding to their illustrious history of mutual hatred. Last month, the Murdoch-owned Post's Page Six accused the broadcaster of valuing ketchup more than the memory of the newly dead Tim Russert. Earlier this week, Page Six ran a particularly provocative item…
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--qKqOSsCI--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/17m2ivfb5q80mjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--NwlS1ad1--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/17m2ivfb5q80mjpg.jpg, (medium)])
As predicted, New York magazine's profile of Joe Scarborough was much like its predecessor in the Times, recounting the MSNBC personality's trip from a scripted right-wing blowhard to a charming, inventive morning show host who even sympathizes with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. But the endorsements!…
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--shy5cEkn--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18mcs0i8bv7n9jpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--0cqyh1sC--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/18mcs0i8bv7n9jpg.jpg, (medium)])
ABC News producer Michael Bicks had a feeling something was wrong after dropping out of a long group bike ride a few weekends ago. "Besides the nausea, my only symptoms were a persistent cough and an overwhelming feeling that something was not right... That’s when Tim Russert popped into my head." Bicks looked up the…
Did you read our post that said a contractor at NBC had been fired for updating Tim Russert's Wikipedia page with news of the Meet the Press moderator's death? Um, never mind: Silicon Alley Insider reporter Michael Learmonth has confirmed with NBC executives that "the dude," as he puts it, wasn't fired, although he…
], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--iEUVhZxv--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/17m2bm3nynkvjjpg.jpg, (small)], [https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--T8PKFDPp--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_180,q_80,w_320/17m2bm3nynkvjjpg.jpg, (medium)])
"Tim Russert was a spokesman for power, wealth, and privilege. That's why 1,000 people came to his memorial service. Because essentially he was a shill for the government." [New York]