MSNBC goes macabre: In Denver, a jet-lagged Brian Williams and Luke Russert play a game in which they try to imagine what Luke's father (insert Star Wars joke), Tim Russert, would think of the goings-on at the DNC. Just one more reminder that the only reason Little Luke is sitting there is because 30 Rock misses his dad. Clip after the jump (the weirdness starts about 1 minute in):
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In a move that can definitely not be taken back, NBC bulldozed Tim Russert's office to make way for a new conference room, and demolished his belongings so that they wouldn't be able to be sold on eBay by an unscrupulous employee. What kind of people are they hiring at NBC that their biggest concern in preserving the legacy of a journalist is making sure no one goes grave-robbing at the site of his office memorial? Are the majority of NBC staff that aren't on-air personalities composed of the Thénardiers? (And yes, the best social commentary can (and often does) involve references to musicals. )
Yesterday, NBC News political director Chuck Todd anchored an hour of daytime programming for MSNBC. He also told colleagues he's going to anchor an hour a day during the network's convention coverage, newsroom sources tell us.
Know what Todd's colleague David Gregory said to his colleagues? That Todd is "gunning" to be the host of Meet The Press — a gig Gregory is said to desperately want for himself.
Too bad our informants say common opinion under the 30 Rock umbrella reveals few staffers want either of 'em to get the gig.
The candidate everybody is pining for? A certain presidential debate moderator. CONTINUED »
Can somebody please explain to us how NBC's hiring of Tim Russert's son Luke as a presidential convention correspondent could in any way cause someone to think it was the result of the "Affirmative Action Fairy"? Luke is white. And, in case anyone thinks affirmation action is based on gender, a man. Did we miss something? CONTINUED »
NBC News' newest political convention correspondent Luke Russert on his new gig: "I'm not trying to be my father. He's irreplaceable. I'm simply trying to do something that I think there's a real niche for, that there's a calling for, that has to do with youth, not just in the election but in politics from now on."
Speaking of matters important to youth, Facebook profiles:
Based on his experience talking sports with James Carville and making people smile at his father's memorial service, Luke Russert has scored himself at gig with NBC News, as was expected. He will be an on-air correspondent for the network during the DNC and RNC conventions, where he will be focusing on "youth issues." Perhaps this will include rattling off which celebrities are in attendance?
Former Newsweek editor and hottie Mark Whitaker will take over as NBC's Washington D.C. bureau chief, replacing the late Tim Russert. This confirms rumors that NBC would wait sufficiently long to name Russert's replacement without appearing morbid. CONTINUED »
Is anyone else a little uncomfortable with Vanity Fair scribe Maureen Orth taking to this morning's Today show to update everyone on the status of her family's mourning over husband Tim Russert's death, while also plugging her article about France's first lady of gossip Carla Bruni. Or maybe the booking was supposed to work the other way around?
On the plus side, Orth's Today appearance is one signal NBC still values its relationship with the late Russert's wife, and gives Vanity Fair reason to keep Orth around, despite them losing The Russert Guarantee that Orth would get booked on NBC's shows.
NBC News supposedly wants to sign Tim Russert's son Luke to be a correspondent for their election coverage. Luke already hosts a radio sports show with James Carville, so why not jump fully into bed with 30 Rock?
The staffer at the company that runs NBC's owned-and-operated stations who updated Tim Russert's Wikipedia entry with news of his death, effectively breaking the news before anybody else, was not fired as had been reported (a NBC News employee was the source). The staffer was only suspended. [SAI]
Lewis Lapham, the veteran editor of Harper's who now bides his time running the vanity publication Lapham's Quarterly, distinguishes himself this season by being among the first to take a public crap on the memory of Tim Russert, telling a movie premiere audience, "Tim Russert was a spokesman for power, wealth, and privilege. That’s why 1,000 people came to his memorial service. Because essentially he was a shill for the government. It didn’t matter whether it was Democratic or Republican. It was for the status quo." Nevermind that it was Lapham, during his first tenure editing Harper's from 1975-1981, who published so many right-wing apologists. Then again, as Jack Shafer noted in 2004, Lapham "always loved starting fights on the playground and then bringing them back into the classroom." So here we are.
Newsmax — whose website is responsible for all those blinking "Vote!" Internet ads featuring Barack Obama and Ann Coulter — is the magazine for right-y types with limited world views. It's also the latest magazine that Roger Friedman would be proud of: It put Tim Russert on the cover. Except the issue went to bed before Russert's death, which means there's no posthumous reflection going on in there. Now, because he is dead, and also because many people liked him very much, Russert is being revered as the godfather of television news — despite many of the bad, mean, negative stories we've heard about him since he passed. But there is on Newsmax, scowling, which puts the magazine in the semi-awkward position of defending a perfectly decent cover. Explains EIC Cable Neuhaus: CONTINUED »
How was GQ's Tom Carson's supposed to know Tim Russert was going to die this month? Perhaps if he had 20/20 foresight, he might not have taken down the late Meet The Press moderator while laying some smack on Chris Matthews. CONTINUED »
Despite conventional wisdom relayed to us earlier this month, NBC News' D.C. deputy chief Wendy Wilkinson does not appear to be the top candidate to take over the head position Tim Russert left empty with his death. Rather, NBC News SVP and Newsweek veteran Mark Whitaker is fingered as a likely successor, with political director Chuck Todd in the running as well. [NYO]
Was Keith Olbermann really playing diva when he wasn't offered a first class train ticket — Oooh! Luxury on Amtrak! — to attend Tim Russert's memorial in D.C.? Supposedly there weren't any premium seats left, which sent the MSNBC anchor into a rage, says Page Six. Nevermind that there doesn't appear to be a service class called "first" (just "business"), and those seats can be had for just a $35 upgrade (or about $100 on the Acela) on the NYC-D.C. route. Also: Didn't these two guys not exactly care for each other?
Olbermann's rep, meanwhile, issued this From Now And To Forever statement on all items written henceforth: "Since whatever you're going to print is an outright lie, you can go ahead and write whatever you want. That's on the record and applies to all future items you might make up." Heh. Like we haven't heard that before.
But the most dramatic part of all this? Knowing the item was going to appear today, Olbermann pulled his usual stunt — last week he did it to Paula Froelich — and named former Jossip editor and currrent Sixer Corynne Steindler to his Worst Person in the World list (she ranked behind Bill O'Reilly, for what that's worth). Clip below. CONTINUED »
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