Remembering Tim Russert

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Remembering Tim Russert

By Scholastic on June 13th, 2008

Everyone at OOM has a heavy heart today after the sad news that NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert passed away this afternoon in DC. Besides being a great journalist and a wonderful friend to Scholastic, he was a tremendous mentor to our Scholastic Kid Reporters.

In 2004, it was Tim Russert who spent an hour with kid reporter David Rush, explaining the electoral college on his now-famous whiteboard. That same year, it was Tim Russert who sat down with three kid reporters on the campaign trail for a “Tips from the Pros” interview and coached them on issues ranging from social security to cafeteria food, and explained the difference between “flirting” and “journalism.”

He also explained why his whiteboard became so important back in 2000, before offering one of the most valuable journalism tips:

On election night I kept marking off the states that were being won by the different candidates, and everybody thought it was so funny that I was using this board, but it was easy to watch because they understood it. So, besides preparation, keep it simple. What good is it if you know something and you can’t explain it to the viewers. You’re in the business of explaining things. And use simple techniques. Never mind the razzle-dazzle glitz. Save that for Hollywood.

He treated all the kid reporters with the same respect and collegiality he gave adult members of the press corps and he was always willing to stop and chat with them on the campaign trail.

In fact, it was just a few weeks ago when 11-year-old kid reporter Jack Greenberg met up with Tim on the trail. Jack’s report on his interview with Tim went live on the site today and just underscores his position as a fantastic role-model for journalists–both young and old.