Somewhere between Slate's irreverent, practically jealous, coverage and MSNBC's coverage lies a happy medium.

Had this simply been a criticism of the media for the degree of their coverage, that would have been fine. The execution here was a little tasteless. Just because the networks had canonized him, does not mean that you get to piss on him. The body hasn't even been buried yet. Could you have waited a week or two on this one?

I'll forgive NBC for its self-indulgence, but my opinion of Slate is forever tarnished by their coverage of Russert.

And MTP was just a "decent" show? What does that make Slate?

Maybe the media has overdone the eulogy, but not grossly so. His death was sudden, totally unexpected and shocking. So I cut them some slack when it comes to showing genuine grief and appreciation for one of their own.

The loss of Tim Russert from the national discourse will be significant. The state of the ‘watchdog press’ is feeble. Tim Russert, who was considered one of the heavy hitters (and one of the good guys), will be hard to replace. Perhaps Mr. Shafer would like to try?

Slate’s contrarian nature is grating at times, especially when tries to be ‘cutesy.’ Don’t get ‘cutesy’ with the death of a good guy. If NBC or the media want to go overboard as part of the grieving process, let ‘em do it. We all know they are hurting.

Not on Tim Russert. Can't you even see the difference.

I didn't see an unkind word in the whole article about Russert himself.

Open you eyes.

Jealousy is the right word here.

Of course when you eulogize someone, you focus on their best attributes, of which Russert had many. In this age of sharply divided politics, Russert was able to maintain neutrality and integrity better than ANY television journalist out there.

This historic election year was his and he was captaining the coverage with remarkable skill. To lose him at this moment only adds to its significance. He will be impossible to replace.

So YES, his death is newsworthy and I commend his rival networks for covering it as such.

Shame on Shafer for his cynicism.

"Right_By_Choice"-

I'm comfortable with my comprehension of this article and still think my reply was correct.

Right_By_Choice:

Not on Tim Russert. Can't you even see the difference.

I didn't see an unkind word in the whole article about Russert himself.

Open you eyes.

The title that you see on the Slate homepage- "The Canonization of Saint Russert," is sarcasm and makes light of genuine feelings of admiration that others may have had for him. Yes, criticism of the media vs. criticism of Russert himself can be separated, but I don't think that was done very well here.