Neill McNeill's Blog

I didn’t know Tim Russert. But I, like every other broadcast journalist, certainly knew who he was and respected him tremendously. Over the last few days as we’ve mourned his loss, I’ve tried to figure out what made him so good at what he did. Perhaps that’s too perplexing of a question because there are so many things people loved about him.

But maybe it has something to do with the fact he was so “human.” He was the guy with whom you’d love to share a meal or a beverage, someone from whom you could gain a lifetime of wisdom within just a short amount of time.

Although I never met Russert face-to-face, I did get to see him one time. It was before the November 2000 election. (It was just weeks before he became even more famous with his dry erase board and his writing “Florida, Florida, Florida.”) George Bush and Al Gore were about to debate at Wait Chapel on the Wake Forest Campus in Winston-Salem.

Russert was standing alone in the lobby area just behind the chapel’s balcony where all the major broadcast news organizations had set up their makeshift studios. He was just standing there looking a little lost, but you could tell he was very “approachable.” I regret I didn’t have the time to speak to him. I was about to field-anchor the 5pm news from the balcony, and we were having technical issues. I wish now that I had took the time—if only a few seconds.

I can’t praise Russert any better than so many of his colleagues already have. But I did come across a column I believe sums up Tim Russert about as good as any. It’s written by a friend and professional colleague of mine. Jill Geisler is a former reporter, anchor, and news director at WITI-TV in Milwaukee. She now teaches other journalists at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. Here is—in part—how she sums up Russert’s career:

“Tim Russert was a true mainstream media guy. The kind traditional journalists identify with. His work was based on research, not rhetoric. If he had biases, he kept 'em caged. He asked tough questions of everyone. He sought light, not just heat on his program. He was the engine that drove "Meet the Press" but he acted like everyman. There amid the glossiness of many TV types, Russert often looked like he'd just bounded up a flight of stairs to the studio, having paid more attention to doing his homework than his hair.” 

“Tim Russert demonstrated key aspects of leadership.”

“Perhaps we're feeling the shock and loss of Tim Russert's death so deeply because we took him for granted. He was so upbeat, reliable and real -- so devoid of an agenda other than reporting and making sense of the political process -- that no one thought of having a fan club for him. We just counted on him, above others, for the straight story.” 

“What greater reward -– or legacy -- can there be for a journalist?”