I absolutely respect his family's private mourning, and his colleagues' and professional acquaintances' public tribute, but the quote from Rutten from the L.A. Times points to how insular and, as Rutten says, "incestuous . . . the Washington-based nexus of politics and journalism has become."

The cover was pulled back a bit when Russert testified in Libby's trial, which Dan Froomkin managed to capture in his Washington Post blog in what it revealed about modus of Washington bureau chief of NBC, which can be found here

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Froomkin describes Russert's approach: "That's not reporting; that's enabling."

The preening and pose of gravitas our media stars display for us--the look of integrity and competence rather than its substance, the mysterious insider knowledge--may have found its quintessence Russert, and perhaps he has been the best of the lot, but the cost of creating and investing in media stars, all the hundreds of hours of cameras focused on their pronouncements, their questions, their concerns, and irritatingly, their insistence on their own importance, has been costly for our country and society. The endless, cloying media tribute is neither surprising, nor their calculation that it will sell. We have been taught to keep watching, and how important our media stars are to the very fabric of our democracy.