Citizen Brand

Tim Russert

There is a vacuum in the world of journalism now.  Actually, it is bigger than that.  Tim Russert collapsed and died today while doing what he loved to do, preparing for another 'Meet the Press.'  It was his work on that program that he is most famous for, but in reality, he was bigger and more important than just a single television show.

What Tim Russert represented was the best of what great journalism has to offer.  He worked hard.  He was unabashedly enthusiastic about all things politics.  He was our guy.  He was representing us every Sunday morning asking the tough questions and always getting answers.  He was our guy.  He was there on election nights with straight talk about what was happening and what it meant to us.  And in this incredible election year of 2008, he had become a fixture in helping us make sense of the ins and outs, the ups and downs of this historic campaign.

I started out as a journalist and had always held up Edward R. Murrow as the gold standard.  He still is.  But in many respects, Tim Russert is the direct descendant of Murrow.  Two journalists who had only one mission - the truth.  Another great journalist, William Allen White would have loved Tim Russert.  As a member of the Board of the William Allen White Foundation, I plan on suggesting that we in some way honor him.  It would be a fitting tribute.

Thank you Tim Russert.  We can only hope that some of those you have inspired and mentored will pick up the ball that prematurely dropped out of your hand today at the young age of 58.

Edward R. Murrow

I decided early in life I wanted to be in radio and television.  At first, I thought sports broadcasting was my calling.  But when I entered the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas in 1973, Watergate was in full swing and we all wanted to be the next Woodward and Bernstein.  At least I did.

That was until I began to learn about Edward R. Murrow.  I was just a bit too young to have seen Murrow in his prime on CBS News.  But as I learned about him and began to study his career as part of my journalism studies, it became clear to me that Murrow was the foundation on which great broadcast journalism was built.  He, of course was most remembered for his showdown with Senator Joseph McCarthy documented in last year's great film, Good Night and Good Luck.

I wrote one of my best papers in college on that fascinating period of history.  But what I found more interesting were his days on the radio during World War Two as he reported from London during the darkest days of the ceaseless bombing of that great city.

I'm moved to write about Murrow tonight because of a great PBS program airing this week as part of the American Masters series.  I hope you have a chance to see it.  His was a life that not only changed his profession, but led to changes in society as well.  There were few issues he did not take on over the years on his famous "See It Now" program or later in productions that redefined the television documentary.  His most famous documentary was Harvest of Shame which documented the horrible existence of America's migrant workers in 1960.

I end this post with a line from Murrow's closing comments in his program that brought down Joe McCarthy.  These are words we need to continue to think about even today:

"Let us not confuse dissent with disloyalty."

Edward R. Murrow was a true citizen of the world.  Take some time to read more about him.  It will be worth your time.