‘A Standard for Fairness’

Tim Russert died a respected man. Just hours after the NBC News Washington bureau chief's fatal heart attack on Friday, his reverent colleagues (and many of his competitors) relayed anecdote after anecdote about Russert's reputation as an adored family man, friend and colleague. But more than his widespread amiability, which can be rare in Washington, Russert was considered a force in political news with few, if any, enemies. Even the politicians-repeatedly put on the spot by Russert's thorough research and civil interview style during his 17-year tenure as moderator of Meet the Press--expressed admiration and respect for him over the weekend.

Amid the encomiums, media historians are now at work assessing Russert's place in the history of broadcast news. NEWSWEEK's Daniel Stone discussed his legacy with Jack Hurley, a veteran TV journalist and vice president of broadcasting for the Newseum--Washington's museum dedicated to news history where Russert served on the board of trustees. Excerpts:

Newsweek: How will Tim Russert be compared to other respected and prolific political journalists [over the years]?
Hurley: I liken that question to trying to figure out the greats in sports in different eras. Things change over the years, the style of things that are asked, the time slots and how political people handle this. In the modern era, Tim ranks at the top. He was mostly known for [hosting Meet the Press], but he also ran the NBC Washington bureau, which is a big operation there. The combination of them both really puts him in the top echelon. [ABC's George] Stephanopoulos is very good. [CBS's Bob] Schieffer is excellent. They're the Big Three. But Tim really seemed to have a down-to-earth approach that seemed to allow him to elicit things that folks might not wind up telling other people. He just had a sense and his colleagues said that he got that sense by just studying and studying. He had a good discipline for study and digging.

Who would also be placed in that upper echelon?
The network anchors. I think Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw. A lot of it has to do with longevity and exposure. The people who last a long time in these positions last a long time because the public likes them and believes them. The coverage of the death of Tim Russert on the front pages is similar to the coverage of Peter Jennings; they were both respected and admired and liked.

Looking at this history of Meet the Press, how did Russert's style differ from predecessors like Marvin Kalb and Lawrence Spivak?
Each of them was very good, but they were all very formal. [Tim] would smile a lot and laugh with them. It would put them at ease and put the viewers at ease. It wasn't a stone face asking a pre-prepared list of questions. He was much more conversational even when he was challenging people. He was much more conversational that any of his predecessors.

He came in an era when reporters were much more inquisitive. You wouldn't have seen journalists approaching an issue like a presidential candidate's health decades ago.
Absolutely not. Or him talking to Hillary Clinton about the situation with her husband.