A decent interval just isn't what it used to be

Waldo:

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Mediacracy

Christopher Hitchens considers the rainbow and other miracles of the Russert State Funeral.

Prediction: Luke Russert will be on NBC within a year.

New York Times:

July 31st, 2008, 3:09 pm

NBC Hires Luke Russert as a Correspondent

By Brian Stelter

Luke Russert after a memorial for his father last month. (J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)

The late “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert’s imprint will remain with NBC News for some time to come: his son Luke will serve as a correspondent at large for the network.

The elder Mr. Russert, 58, died of a heart attack on June 13. He frequently mentioned Luke, his only son, in television appearances.

The younger Mr. Russert’s first assignment will be at the Democratic National Convention in Denver at the end of August and at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul at the beginning of September. A 2008 Boston College graduate, he will focus on youth issues for NBC.

“Never before in an election cycle has so much attention turned to the youth vote, and Luke will bring a unique perspective to covering it,” Steve Capus, the president of NBC News, said in a statement.

Before his father’s unexpected death in June, Mr. Russert already had extensive media experience. For two years he has co-hosted an XM radio show with the political pundit James Carville. Two weeks after his father died, he appeared on “Larry King Live” and discussed the dramatic rise in the number of young people who are showing interest in this year’s election.

“The availability of the Internet has allowed kids to be very engaged in the political process and also be very educated,” he said on CNN. “I myself am a religious reader of political Web sites, as are a lot of my friends.”

Mr. Russert will continue to cover youth issues after the November election, an NBC spokeswoman said.