Remembering Russert: “Our Roles in This Vast Information Spectrum”

In a New Yorker story, on newsstands tomorrow, Peter J. Boyer profiles MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. For the story, Boyer spoke with Tim Russert about the differing roles he and Olbermann play for the NBC News networks.

As Russert put it to me shortly before his death, “Keith and I have each carved out our roles in this vast information spectrum.” He continued, “What cable emphasizes, more and more, is opinion, or even advocacy. Whether it’s Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann or Lou Dobbs, that’s what that particular platform or venue does. It’s not what I do. What I do is different. I try very, very hard not to come up and say to people, ‘This is what I believe,’ or ‘This is good,’ or ‘This is bad.’ But, rather, ‘This is what I’m learning in my reporting,’ or ‘This is what my analysis shows based on my reporting.’ And as long as I can do that I’m very, very comfortable. And nobody has asked me to do anything but that.”

We’ll have more on The New Yorker profile later today on TVNewser…

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