# Tim Russert's reputation as a hard nosed journalist was a sham. He was a shill for the government **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 19, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-russerts-reputation-as-a-hard-nosed-journalist-was-a-sham-he-was-a-shill-for-the-government/503510 "2009-07-19T04:59:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-russerts-reputation-as-a-hard-nosed-journalist-was-a-sham-he-was-a-shill-for-the-government/503510/21 "2009-07-20T04:20:03Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Well the Bush administration did a pretty good job of convincing people that if they were antagonistic that they wouldn’t have access. Which is why reporters need to ask themselves what is the value of the access. Access for access’ sake does not serve the public good. The rise of citizen journalists, while still in its infancy, seems to be replacing the role of old journalism. ---
**Author:** ![intention](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e95f7d/32.png) [@intention](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/intention)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-russerts-reputation-as-a-hard-nosed-journalist-was-a-sham-he-was-a-shill-for-the-government/503510/22 "2009-07-20T06:57:59Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Sadly for journalists it is all about access. If you are too hard nosed, bust too many chops, you will never get any access to anyone. They will all shun you. You’ll never get another interview. > > As a journalist I can see the problem. Do your job and you can’t do your job. So you play footsie. > > Russert, more than most, was able to toss something approaching hard questions. IIRC Rudolph Giuliani said upon Russert’s death that he was the guy every politician hated facing but his show was such that every politician felt they had to do that Sunday morning round (he said this in a nice, I respect the guy kind of way). > > Was Russert all he could be? No. But he was working in the system as it stands and I think he pushed the edges a bit more than most. The vast majority of journalists will bend over in order to “do their job”. Helen Thomas had more balls than Russert ever had. After being frozen out for three years by the Bush White House, Bush finally got up the nerve to ask her a question. But she didn’t believe the nonsense you are peddling about how journalists need to play footsie, she immediately pinned him to the wall with a question about how his reasons for the war had all turned to dust … to which, of course, he had no answer. So no, Russert didn’t “push the edges more than most”. He never even approached the edges. Helen always did, and she lasted through a host of Presidents … your claims simply don’t hold water. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-russerts-reputation-as-a-hard-nosed-journalist-was-a-sham-he-was-a-shill-for-the-government/503510/23 "2009-07-20T07:13:19Z")
Whoa! I agree with **intention**. The end must be near… False alarm, the comet crashed in Jupiter. 🙂 > **[Something hit Jupiter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=525116)** > > A dark spot has appeared on Jupiter. Astronomers will be observing the planet to see if it’s from an impact or it’s a storm. http://www.irishastronomy.org/cms/forum?func=view&catid=2&id=79644&start=15 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-russerts-reputation-as-a-hard-nosed-journalist-was-a-sham-he-was-a-shill-for-the-government/503510/24 "2009-07-20T07:27:25Z")
> [@intention](#): > > Helen Thomas had more balls than Russert ever had. After being frozen out for three years by the Bush White House, Bush finally got up the nerve to ask her a question. > > But she didn’t believe the nonsense you are peddling about how journalists need to play footsie, she immediately pinned him to the wall with a question about how his reasons for the war had all turned to dust … to which, of course, he had no answer. > > So no, Russert didn’t “push the edges more than most”. He never even approached the edges. Helen always did, and she lasted through a host of Presidents … your claims simply don’t hold water. Amen. Russert was a self-congratulating lard-assed sycophant. And that comparison is unkind to the self-congratulating, the lard-assed and sycophants. I find that the worms that feed on Russert’s decomposing body are more even-handed. I would sooner much rather that such fair and balanced worms feast on my mortal remains than to ever have another phony baloney “hard-nosed” journalist take bows while waiting for liars in power to telephone him to alert him to their misdeeds. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-russerts-reputation-as-a-hard-nosed-journalist-was-a-sham-he-was-a-shill-for-the-government/503510/25 "2009-07-21T12:43:23Z")
And the sad thing is they’ve replaced him with David Gregory, who was nothing more than a White House parrot in the run-up to war. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tim-russerts-reputation-as-a-hard-nosed-journalist-was-a-sham-he-was-a-shill-for-the-government/503510.md?page=1)