Much ado about much a-done

It's fun being a media critic.
Maybe I'm biased as a member of the media, but if I were to take potshots at very easy targets, my shortlist would include the Bush administration, journalists and the New England Patriots.
And while Jack Schafer of Slate.com is one of the more even-handed media critics, it seems unnecessary to take NBC News to task for over-covering the death of "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert (and Schafer almost admits as much at the end of the column, so keep the venom to a minimum).
If Russert had been a major network anchor, this question over overdoing the coverage of his death would be a non-issue.
As it were, I think most would agree that Russert was the closest thing you can get to being a star in the world of broadcast news without being an anchor. No, he wasn't Brokaw, Jennings, Rather, Anderson Cooper or Wolf Blitzer — but he was pretty darn close.
Furthermore, just about all the praise heaped on Russert by the likes of Brokaw, Mike Barnicle and other fellow colleagues rings true to me as a viewer who did not know the man personally.
And to top it all off, Russert came off as just as humble about his own work as he seemed knowledgeable. Maybe he knew no shame in his support for his beloved Buffalo, N.Y., sports teams, but his approach to news, politics, journalism and people in general was as genuine in its earnestness and honesty as anyone could ever imagine.
Is it news? Maybe not. But will we ask that question the next time some cable news channel runs more than 30 seconds of its newscast on Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton or the like.
The better question to ask: Is it merited? I'd say so.