Critics like Jack Shafer called out NBC and others for over-airing Tim Russert memories. Now, Shafer gets a couple servings of STFU: "I think Shafer may suffer from a related syndrome to being a 'Beltway insider,' that which afflicts people who live (or think) just outside the Beltway. He's so hyper-aware of how the D.C. syndrome can consume people's ethics and humanity that he discounts the very real connection that some of them (like the host of the No. 1-rated Sunday public affairs program) have with viewers — and not just political junkies either, but the ordinary folks who have been posting tributes to my web site and many, many others (including those who commented on the story by Tim Rutten, most of whom ignored how hard Rutten came down on Russert). Not a lot of those commenters were really that hung up with the amount of media coverage, so long as they could contribute in some small way, such as speculating on his successor or remembering his impact as an author, like the comment that began: 'I read Big Russ and Me shortly after my father passed away…'"

Earlier: And So Continues the Tim Russert Tribute Backlash