Tim Russert’s speech for the 146th Commencement at Washington University, is entitled “A View From Washington.” This title is certainly fitting, considering that Russert serves as senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC News.
In addition, this year’s commencement speaker is the managing editor and moderator of Meet the Press (the longest-running show in television history), the anchor of The Tim Russert Show (a weekly interview program on CNBC), a political analyst for NBC Nightly News and Today and a contributing anchor for MSNBC.
Rob Wild, the assistant to the Chancellor, views Russert as an excellent choice to address this year’s graduating seniors.
“In addition to his numerous responsibilities with NBC, he has been involved in many of the significant historical and cultural events during the lifetimes of our graduates, including the three presidential debates hosted by Washington University,” said Wild. “We have received much positive reaction from students, parents and alums since his selection was announced.”
Russert has certainly had a widespread effect on the world of politics. The Washington Post has credited him with coining the term “red state” and “blue state” to denote the political leanings of states. Also, he is further credited with predicting that the election results would hinge on Florida in the 2000 Presidential Election between Al Gore and George Bush.
Before Russert joined NBC, he gained political knowledge through his position as counselor in the New York’s Governor’s office in Albany in 1993 and 1984, where he was able to observe the executive and legislative branches firsthand. He also served as special counsel in the United States Senate from 1977 to 1982.
In addition to his media duties, Russert’s foray into authoring books has also been extremely successful. Both of his books, entitled Big Russ and Me (2004) and Wisdom of Our Fathers (2006), were New York Times #1 best sellers.
His successful and varied career has garnered him several prestigious awards, including an Emmy for his coverage of President Reagan’s funeral, the Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television Journalism and an induction into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.
Because of all of these accomplishments, Russert fit the criteria that the Chancellor looks for in a commencement speaker.
“The process for selecting a Commencement speaker is something the Chancellor takes very seriously. It is important to find someone who can speak to a broad audience on a wide range of issues that our graduates will likely encounter as they enter their lives after Washington University,” said Wild. “We feel that Tim Russert is an outstanding selection to address the Class of 2007.”
Though Russert did not have name recognition with many seniors at first, he is now generally seen as a positive choice among students.
“I didn’t know much about Tim Russert before I heard that he would speak for commencement this year because I don’t watch news shows. I prefer to read the Times,” said senior Caroline Broome. “However, I’m glad he’s coming and I am looking forward to hearing him speak. I think one of a university’s roles is to encourage students to think about how we will fit into the world, how we can use the education we built up to have an influence on broader society. Speakers, especially high profile ones, are a good way to do draw students’ attention to social issues.”