Tim Russert Doesn't Want You to Read This

Here is some of the stuff from Arianna Huffington's new book, Right is Wrong, that NBC's Tim Russert has worked himself into a lather over and doesn't want you to read.

On Russert pumping up the panic:

Take Tim Russert, whose July 1, 2007, Meet the Press interview with Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was about as priapic a display as you're ever likely to see outside of a porno film or the monkey cage at the zoo, with Russert desperately trying to get Chertoff to pump up the panic meter...You could almost hear the blood rushing to his loins--and the palpable sense of deflation when Chertoff refused to stroke his fantasy.

On Russert being the White House's "best format":

In the meantime, the White House adopted its standard operating procedure: farm out the really vile stuff to surrogate sleaze-peddlers while dispatching its press secretary to Meet the Press to take the high road...Tim Russert didn't blink an eye--proving once again why his show is your "best format," as former Cheney communications director Cathie Martin described Meet the Press while testifying during the Libby trial.

On Russert as a purveyor of conventional wisdom:

It's no secret why the arbiters of conventional wisdom get so defensive when these kinds of questions are raised: their opinions helped lead to the war in Iraq, so anytime the conventional wisdom is threatened, they rise in its defense...Exhibit A came during Barack Obama's appearance on Meet the Press on December 30, 2007. Tim Russert, one of the temple guards of conventional wisdom, used one of the classic weapons in its defense: the straw man.

On Russert's "EZ Pass" journalism:

On June 6, 2005, Meet the Press featured Ken Mehlman, then chairman of the Republican National Committee. It was another classic example of why host Tim Russert has become journalism's answer to the EZ Pass, those electronic tags that allow drivers to go through toll booths without having to stop. On the show, Mehlman was allowed to distort, twist, manipulate, obfuscate, and disssemble his way through every stop on the disinformation highway.

You can get the full details in Right Is Wrong.

Follow Jason Linkins on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dceiver

Comments

[bbdmartin]

KEITH OLBERMANN IS MY GUY!!!!! I'LL THROW CHRIS MATTHEWS IN THERE TOO!

[racom]

Matthews, are you kidding? He wants to be the next russert so bad he is frothing at the mouth, always sucking up to the powers that be. Wait a minute, you didn't say where you would throw matthews. If into a special hell for puppy dog talking heads I vote for that!!!

[Braised Cod]

Matthews (a.k.a. Tweety) is a complete right wing tool. Watch him brown nose Tom Delay off camera: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/found-object-delay-on-ha_b_18506.html

[Manx]

Let's follow the FOX lead and establish a count-down of the number of days Arianna Huffington has not appeared on Meet The Press. If Tim Russert is responsible for NBC's ban on Arianna, it makes him look petty and renders his credibility questionable.

[rflctammt]

I finally had to send a letter to MSNBC this morning informing them that I was turning them off for good. After years of being a dedicated viewer, I just could not take any more of their weak-kneed "tough guys" - like Russert - or their obsession with negativity (6+ hours of Rev. Wright "reporting" v.s. scant mention of the Pentagon Propaganda Scandal) - or their new emphasis on debating, even trying to determine, what is NEWS, rather than simply reporting it. (Though I did reserve the "right" to TIVO "Countdown" - which is in a class of its own.)

I gave up on CNN long ago, though I like Stuart Anderson. Any network that airs Ann Coulter indicates no vested interest in real NEWS.

Of course, I've long understood that FOX and BUSHCOM's pockets are sewn together. All of America has paid the price for following the pair of them down the short path from 9-11 to the IRAQ War without even recognizing their collaboration.

It is hard believe that so much of our media is now slipping down that same "cherry-picking" slope. It's also a little frightening to think where they might lead us this time. I, for one, do not plan on going there willingly.

How about a little REALITY TV when it comes to the NEWS? C-Span, I'm yours.

[Meah]

I would never give up Countdown.

[Gingerously]

You want "real" news and you watch Countdown?

[patenapier]

I stopped watching Tim years ago when I realized that he had sold out. Rachel Maddow appears to be the only person out there with any brains.

[rkrenke]

I turned all of the Sunday a.m. shows off a couple of years ago - don't care what they're saying. As long as the Fourth Estate is corporate-owned, the Tim Russert's will continue bloviating and the People will continue to gravitate to alternative forms of media such as the HuffPo.

With any luck, the majority will eventually become educated and the Tim Russert's will fade away due to lack of ratings and loss of advertisers.

Turn them off and demand media reform!

[messstower]

I watch Sunday Morning on CBS the show is light and somewhat informative.

[kujobu]

YUP. GAVE UP ON TIM NOT TOO LONG AGO. WHEN AN ARM CHAIR JOURNALIST KNOWS WHAT THE FOLLOW UP QUESTION SHOULD BE AND IT ISN'T ASKED - IT IS TIME TO STOP LISTENING. LOVE MCGLAUGHLIN FOR WHAT IT IS WORTH.

[castlerider]

Nobody intentionally attacks Tim, actually, not that I can really see. Many don't like him, for various reasons, but the main reason of all is just that Tim is the man IN THE PLACE TO ASK HARD QUESTIONS- AND HE DOES NOT!!!!

His ineffectiveness at really taking it to the people in power and making them accountable has likened him to a veritable lapdog. It's his own fault that this is now his reputation. The myriad of mistakes, gaffes, and actual criminal and outlaw behavior done by this administration have gone virtually unchecked as far as how he cautiously stops himself from God forbid- shaking up the mighty...
What is Tim afraid of?
If he had balls, he would demand the truth about the corporate monolopies involved with Iraq, wiretapping, and so many other fronts. Americans have the internet now, and know we are being lied to because of all the facts all around us. Yes, he would be chastised by the powerful but so what? his public deserves nothing less, and we know it. Instead, Tim keeps coming up way too short on info and demands for accountability, pandering to the mighty...

In other words, Lapdog.

[UkieOlie]

Lapdog--that says it all.

[Mommiablo]

"Black Group Says Backlash if SuperDelegates Take Campaign From Obama and Give it to Clinton"

OR

"Women Say Backlash if SuperDelegates Take Campaign From Clinton and Give it to Obama"

Arianna, you have been drawn over the thin line into yellow journalism, pandering to Obama, and I will certainly not waste my gas dollars on your book.

Regards,
Mommiablo

[AggravationKills]

Bravo Mommiablo. However did you get past the moderators!

[drblack]

This guy is obviously a republican troll if he thinks reporting what a group says is yellow .
The corporate media and the right wing noise machine are so far below the standards of Huff post that only a republican , OxyRush, BillO-Luffa fan would make a statement like that with no indepth analysis to back it up.
The only criticism i have of this site is the fluff about celebrities. Leave that to TMSleaze.

[OriginalScreenName]

Again, the facts have an Obama bias.

How many more dumb ideas are going to come from Hillary and McCain? How many more times is Obama going to take the position supported by fact over politics. Case in point: Healthcare mandates and Gas Tax Holiday. If you think Hillary has a good position on either of those two, you have your head in the sand. This isn't a case of opinion, but fact.

FACT: There are no mandates in Hillary's plan because she has offered no enforcement whatsoever. No enforcement, no mandate. It's that simple.

FACT: The gas tax holiday will do nothing to curb gas prices. They tried it here in Illinois - we had lower prices for a week. It FAILED miserably. This is Econ 101.

So unfortunately, the facts are slanted heavily to Obama. More accurately, Obama is slanted heavily to the facts. So any reporter who is reporting the facts, will seem like they have an Obama bias.

[frustratedinohio]

You must be delirious.

[standforpeace]

What are you talking about? Hillary is in second place so if she doesn't get the nomination it means that as one would expect with a second place finish she is just the loser. This can not be lkened to the situation if Obama who will finish with more votes and more delegates is not selected.

If you want to continue to support Hillary, that's fine. But why do so many Hillary supporters feel the need to engage in deceit to support their candidate? Maybe this is Hillary's version of the trickle down theory. The lying starts at the top and then trickles down the food chain to the outrageous claims of her supporters on the Huff and elsewhere.

[ParadiseDiva]

Lying, huh?

Let's see...

Selma...made him
Rezko...only did 5 hrs work
Wright...didn't know he what he was saying
Nafta...nope, nobody called

Uh-huh.

As to his followers...my latest favorite is the "Clinton Pastor Jailed". There's dumbass followers all over the net trying to get that one to fly. Too funny.

So, you were saying?

[realpolitic]

It was so telling that on Bill Moyer's special on the events that lead us to the war, Moyers interviewd Russert and asked when Cheney told him of the aluminum tubes which Cheney said indicated Saddam had a nuclear program, why Russert did not call any analysts to challenge Cheney's description of the facts? Russert said he wished some of the analysts would have called and talked to him. Then he went his into "Listen, I am just a guy from Buffalo" non-sequitur. Russerts forgets he is a hugely compensated real reporter, not an actor playing one on television. He is supposed to call sources and check things out and not sit by to wait for sources to call him. The whole affair was a travesty. Russert is also poor at asking follow-up questions. He just reads from the script.

[pbfishtaco]

Watch "Network", a movie ahead of it's time. Russert would fit in the script nicely. The MSM knows it is becoming more irrelevant by the week; now they're just pandering to keep their phony baloney jobs as long as someone will pay them. "The news has been cancelled".

[realpolitic]

I like that: "The news has been cancelled." So here's more on Britney or tune into Fox to hear the Department of Defense's point of view.

[willie3070]

When I heard Scallia say ,the other day,'get over it' in regards to the courts desion on the 2000 elections I recall Tim R. saying the exact same line just after the illegal desion then mad by the crooked and dishonest supreme court.

[DanoS]

Come on. Tim is one of the better and more politically knowledgable pundants. Far more balanced than most and his temporment is just right. (Though he is the king of "Gotch Ya".) Meet the Press is one of the best political hours found anywhere on TV in my opinion.

Anyone on CNN or Fox is better? I don't think so.

P.S. I really think it's in poor taste for us to attack him or anyone else personally or insult the way anyone looks. If you disagree with his format, perspective, etc. that's one thing, but please don't stoop into the gutter. We are better than that. Make your case without insult, that fair.

[realpolitic]

Russert is very poor with follow-up questions. If a guy makes any ridiculous answer and sticks with his story, Russert will eventually move on.

[nibblybits]

So true. It's because follow up questions require improvised thinking. He can't do it. He can only ask questions prepared by his staff with all those culled quotes and visual graphics. I'm pretty sure he isn't even listening when his interviewee is talking.

[JimR]

If Russert asks a follow-up questions, and the guest sticks to a ridiculous answer, what's the point of staying on the topic? To give the guest an opportunity to repeat it once more? I think part of what he does is to force some guests into stupid answers and to let viewers decide for themselves.

[castlerider]

Nobody intentionally attacks Tim, actually, not that I can really see. Many don't like him, for various reasons, but the main reason of all is just that Tim is the man IN THE PLACE TO ASK HARD QUESTIONS- AND HE DOES NOT!!!!

His ineffectiveness at really taking it to the people in power and making them accountable has likened him to a veritable lapdog. It's his own fault that this is now his reputation. The myriad of mistakes, gaffes, and actual criminal and outlaw behavior done by this administration have gone virtually unchecked as far as how he cautiously stops himself from God forbid- shaking up the mighty...
What is Tim afraid of?
If he had balls, he would demand the truth about the corporate monolopies involved with Iraq, wiretapping, and so many other fronts. Americans have the internet now, and know we are being lied to because of all the facts, and Tim keeps coming up way too short on info, pandering to the mighty...

In other words, Lapdog.

[Dandrea]

If we are to judge TR's effectiveness by how many times he has taken it to people in power, I haven't seen it. Sad to say castlerider is correct. Where was Tim Russert all the times we needed him for the truth? Running a Sunday morning gotcha show- a top rated circus for the masses.

[BassMent]

What on earth is a pundant? A cross between a pundit and a pedant?

Oh wait, that describes Russert perfectly! Well done DanoS!

[simplecitizen]

Russett will interview Obama for the full hour this Sunday on Meet The Press. Lets see if he can be fair and unbiased in his questioing of Obama. Russett if he were a truely unbiased broadcast jounalist would not have Arianna Huffington barred and disinvited on all of the NBC family of stations. NBC should be bigger than that and not try to manage the news but just try to report it. I personally like Meet The Press but I think certain guests get the benefit of the doubt with the follow up softball questions and others get hammered. Guess it just reflects Russert's own political managing of the interviews.

[apoyo]

You mean Russert will try to bait Obama for another gotcha moment that he can gloat over with his buddies at NBC. And if he was a truly unbiased broadcast journalist he would not have provided fodder for Arianna's book. The fact that he won't allow her on means he can dish it out but he can't take it.

[castlerider]

You said it perfectly.... He can dish it out, but he can't take it. What a squirrel. - I mean lapdog.

Cats make great lapdogs too... What a pussy.

[sklfcats]

Tim russert is the most unprofessional interviewer ever

[Donise]

BBC News
CSPAN (3 sep. channels)
Democracy Now
Air America (Radio)

Best college class I ever took were my writing classes. Why? They teach writing an arguement AND PROPERLY SOURCING the arguement. They should begin teaching this stuff early (they might already) in middle school and high school. Oh yeah, CRITICAL THIKING 101! Once you've written a few papers and taken a critical thinking class, you realize that not everythig you read is true and not everything that's said on the media networks are true and most importantly, you learn to critically THINK for yourself.

[mamacat]

I cannot imagine a single reporter on commercial tv taking the place of Edward R. Murrow, standing up to Sen. McCarthy. Russert (and 100% of the rest of his compatriots on corporate tv news) would be climbing over each other to praise McCarthy, not standing up to him.

Having grown up in an era when we had real newsmen, I find today's crop of talking heads very dissatisfying.