Mr. Russert was a smart guy, and seemed like a decent person.  We are sorry to see a young and dynamic individual go to his final resting place before ripe old age was reached.

To our relatively recent memory, the media coverage of Mr. Russert's passing was only exceeded by coverage of the death and funeral of former President Ronald Reagan.  With all due respect, we hope Mr. Russert will not lie in state at the Capitol Building.  We hope we will not see live coverage of the funeral procession etc., though if the media had their way.....

There is no question that Mr. Russert's sudden and therefore shocking death was a big deal for the news media industry.  It is unfortunate that because it was a big deal to them, that they made it a big deal for the entire nation, if not the world.  In fact, Tim Russert was rammed down our throats.  While we certainly appreciate the trauma of an industry giant's unexpected demise, we submit to the mass news media, you folks went way, way, way beyond what was appropriate or necessary to report this news.

We didn't know Mr. Russert personally, however, judging from the reported decency and 'everyday guy' qualities of the man, we have an inkling that Mr. Russert was gazing down from Heaven probably one part pissed, and one part amused at the media frenzy that ensued.

So, Mr. Russert's passing was certainly not stupid, but the media going nuts over the news was. 

To quote another famous newscaster (Linda Ellerbee):

"And so it goes"

Indeed