Now that we have mourned the all-too-early loss of Tim Russert, we need to think about what would be the best course for NBC News in picking his replacement on Meet The Press.
This could be used as an OPPORTUNITY by NBC to enhance the journalistic standards of their news division. Not saying that Russert didn't have good standsrds. He certainly did, and had a well-earned reputation. However, the problem with MTP in recent years is that it was too (for lack of a better term) "elitist".
By "elitist", I mean that MTP had just ONE journalist asking the questions each Sunday, Tim Russert (or whoever his substitute would be when he had the day off). Most of the time, David Gregory was his sole substitute in recent years. The show also tended to book the same small group of political pundits, such as Carville and Matalin, David Shrum, Pat Murphy, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Brooks, David Broder, etc. This habit left out many valuable voices who could have added to the Sunday morning discourse.
If you go back to the roots of Meet The Press, it truly was what the program's name inferred. Guests on the show met the press! What a novel concept that was - an actual panel of journalists asking probing questions of the powerful and the influential. You can learn the history of the show at wikipedia.
I remember watching that show in the 60's and 70's with host Lawrence Spivak. What good JOURNALISM that show was! As good as Russert was the past 17 years, he should not have been allowed to dominate the line of questioning by NBC. Also, Russert wasn't a true journalist, but rather a former political aide (of NY senator Moynihan), which may explain Russert's obsession with the topic of politics, and the dominance of the "horse race" banter on his shows with his pundit guests. In the future, I hope actual NEWS of the day isn't ignored in favor of politics as often as it is now.
So I ask you: What should NBC do to replace the great Tim Russert? Who should they pick, and should they return to their roots of having a panel of questioners? Vote and have your say!