For reporting that is an embarrassment to the profession
of journalism, and for being beholden to corporate paymasters rather than
the citizens of America.
He's back. Yes, Tim Russert -- General Electric's favorite waterboy for the
irrelevant and throwing softballs at the Dick Cheneys of the world -- joins
the few, the wealthy, the compromised, and the faux sincere political journalists
as a two-time winner of the BuzzFlash Media Putz of the Week Award.
Considering all the grave issues facing the world today, in the Cleveland
Democratic "showdown," Russert managed to sound like an inquisitor
on secondary character issues that would be better left to the waning minutes
of an unimportant news conference.
Conrad N. Sawyer of Fayetteville, Arkansas nominated Russert for "Being
a shill for the Republican Party at the Tuesday night Ohio Democratic debate.
Why didn't he ask if the candidates have a contingency plan if evil Zircon
people from Pluto attack us with Q rays?" Sawyer has a point, even though
Russert's questions weren't completely irrelevant, but they reminded us of
his past debate question that was burning on every American's mind, Has Dennis
Kucinich ever seen a UFO?
MediaMatters.org
noted:
"During
this week's Democratic presidential debate, Russert didn't ask a single question
about global warming, continuing his longstanding habit of all but ignoring
the topic. He didn't ask a single question about the mortgage crisis. (As
one Cleveland resident noted, "We've got the mortgage industry's toxic
waste scattered all over this city, but Mr. Blue-Collar-Buffalo-and-Cleveland-Marshall-Guy
Russert couldn't be bothered with a question about it.") He didn't
ask a single question about executive power, the Constitution, torture,
wiretapping,
or other civil-liberties concerns. But that shouldn't come as a surprise;
of all the questions he has asked while moderating presidential debates
during this campaign, only one has dealt with any of those topics."
Why didn't Russert ask these questions?
Once again, we are brought back to the corporate context and constraints
of creating Media Putzes. NBC is owned by GE and GE has business interests
that could financially be affected by slowing down nuclear power and ensuring
its safety; by reducing greenhouse gas emissions; by increasing regulation
on the mortgage markets; and so on. Not to mention that GE doesn't, in any
way, want to tick off Dick Cheney or George W. Bush by getting into a meaningful
discussion of unitary authority or the assault on our civil liberties.
Russert has a pleasant enough television presence, but so does a golden retriever
at the Westminster Dog Show -- and they are both on leashes, of different
kinds to be sure.
BuzzFlash has mentioned in the past that Russert has built up a fuzzy
narrative about his working class upbringing in Buffalo, New York. Unfortunately,
his "success" story
has resulted in his abandoning the values he grew up with for the lure
of a fat paycheck. He's even abandoned, as his line of questioning showed
in
Cleveland, the working class stiffs he has left behind to struggle economically
for survival.
The working class has been taken for a ride by the entrenched Republicrats
in D.C., and Russert is their trusted puppy who they trust to never upset
the status quo.
Tim Russert previously won the Media PUTZ of the week on August 2, 2007.
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