Word: russerts
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...measure of his success as a journalist that few people remember Tim Russert was once the Democratic Lee Atwater - the smartest, toughest, most instinctive political aide around. In 1984, when Gary Hart was floundering in a bid for the presidency, he famously said, "Get me a Russert," and Tim became a byword for a savvy political adviser who understood both the electorate and the media. Some people are born with a gene for politics. Tim was one of them...
...Later in the channel's coverage, Brokaw talked about how deeply Russert felt the pull of the politics he covered: "He really believed that politics are the DNA of this country." And just as inextricably, Russert is now part of the DNA of American political journalism...
...There was almost a kind of instinctual, animal acuity on display when Russert did an interview. He would lean forward, savoring what he took in, seeming to smell and taste the answers more than hearing them, picking up immediately and viscerally on the slightest off note. Russert earned plenty of detractors among those who felt that, on the one hand, he engaged in "gotcha" journalism, and on the other, he was too clubby with Washington insiders. But his Meet the Press was anything but toothless, and it became established as a required trial by fire for political leaders...
...journalist as accomplished and prominent as Russert, of course, is bound to be criticized by people who wish that journalism and politics were different from what they are. But regardless, he was indisputably the master of politics and journalism as they are, intimately familiar with the levers of power and how they are wielded...
...Russert is survived by Big Russ, whom he immortalized through his writing and broadcasts, and by his wife, writer Maureen Orth. He is also survived by former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw, who announced Russert's death on MSNBC this afternoon, his voice cracking, like a father prematurely saying goodbye to a journalistic son. "I think I can invoke personal privilege to say that this news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice," Brokaw said. "He'll be missed as he was loved, greatly...