If there's a model for interviewing, it's Tim Russert, who died of a massive heart attack couple days ago.
Tim raised the bar for all other interviewers. He knew how to wrest info. from even the most reticent or press-scared of public officials.
He knew, as a journalist and 25-year anchor of "Meet the Press," how to make you squirm, but he also excelled in putting his interview subjects at ease--all in the service of the First Amendment and our right to know what government is or isn't doing.
I haven't watched the YOuTube video link (above) because the computer I'm typing this on has a very, very slow Net connection. But hopefully the link offers you a measure of Russert's greatness and high respect in the journalism community.
I loved him even more, maybe, for his personable, warm CD audios titled "Big Russ and Me"--about his relationship with his dad and his childhood in Buffalo, N.Y. A few years ago, my daughter Dorothy gave me those videos as a birthday gift.
Tim Russert--son of a sanitation worker in Buffalo--rose to the heights of his profession.
A heart attack, sadly and tragically, took him away from us.
The same kind of attack that could have killed me just a few weeks ago.
Why Tim Russert and not me?
?????
2 comments:
I feel diminished by Russert's death. He could make his guests uneasy as he would post and read their previous statements, holding them accountable. (I always thought he read those statements with glee in his eyes--in a "gotcha" fashion.)
He was just a really, really good guy--along with having the complete package of journalism skills.
Yes, he could make his interviewees squirm, but he also made them feel at ease--usually near end of the program. That was his magic and consummate talent, I believe.
Thanks for reading and for writing a comment!
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