In Memoriam

There are only two television shows that I know of that are truly worth the commercials. The first is CBS Sunday Morning and the other is Meet the Press on NBC. The CBS program, which began with legendary newsman Charles Kuralt, is about as close to poetry as television will ever get, reminding us in quiet, probing segments of the stunning diversity of our nation and the amazing people in it. And then there is Meet the Press with Tim Russert, where the important issues of the day were discussed and toady government officials and their henchmen had to face real questions. I spent many a Sunday morning, beginning as a teen, in front of the television waiting for Tim to grill the pompous or to simply press someone for an answer we all wanted to know. It was riveting and informative. Often, my dad and I would boisterously cheer Tim on as he made his guests answer every question. He was doing it for us, i.e. those of us dwindling Americans who still care about getting at the truth. But, the fact that Tim was a superb newsman is not the only reason why I was such a big fan. He was, at heart, just a regular guy. I loved seeing him sitting beside the coiffed and pampered NBC anchors talking about an election. His hair was usually askew, like mine, and he always seemed to have a down-to-earth approach that differed from just about every other television journalist I have ever seen. He could also poke fun at himself, appearing on an episode of the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Streets. It was those qualities that made you feel like Tim was representing us on Meet the Press. He represented something slowly disappearing in many newsrooms- integrity and class. Every broadcast, after giving us a peek at the truth, Tim would remind us “If it's Sunday morning, it's Meet the Press.” I know it was just a corny catch phrase to remind us to tune in again, but somehow I felt reassured that despite all the troubles in our world, Tim would be back and we would get to the truth. This from James Carville on a special edition of Meet the Press: "The question I'm most often asked about Tim is, 'Is he really as good a guy as he looks like?' " said Carville. "And the truth is, he was a better guy."