by Katie Fretland

Many expressed their deep sadness today for the death of newsman Tim Russert at age 58. Colleagues remembered him as a giant of the profession who was satisfied with no less than the highest standard of journalistic integrity. Politicians remembered him as a tough and fair interviewer.

Here is what they have to say:

"Tim was a man of many passions - his family most of all, his faith, his country, political journalism, baseball and the Buffalo Bills. As a working class Irish-American with a Jesuit education his range was wide and deep - from the sensibilities of blue-collar voters to the politics of the Vatican, from the power plays on Capitol Hill to the power plays on network television. Almost all of our conversations - and they went on every day - ended with some version of, "Can you believe how lucky we are to be doing this?" --Tom Brokaw

"Tim Russert is gone. He was a giant in our company, in our lives, and in the combined fields of journalism and politics. He was my friend for many years, and my on-air partner during the most exciting political year in generations. The members of Tim's NBC News family are thinking only of the members of Tim's own family in the wake of this staggering, overpowering and sudden loss." -- Brian Williams

"I met Tim when I first came to NBC 22 years ago. He was a fireball of news energy. He loved life, his wife Maureen and his son Luke. There was no news assignment that he wasn't part of. Our Washington Bureau was forever changed by his presence and management. Meet The Press was reborn with Tim and continues today as his signature program. Tim was a big part of the launch of MSNBC, the Today Show's political coverage, Nightly News, and all of NBC's political coverage. He was generous, thoughtful, inspired and a tireless journalist who will never be forgotten!" -- Bob Wright, former chairman and CEO of NBC Universal

by Aamer Madhani

One of the most interesting anecdotes in NBC Iraq correspondent Richard Engel's new book didn't take place on the streets of Baghdad but in the Oval Office.

In February 2007, weeks after President Bush announced his plans for the troop buildup in Iraq, Engel, one of the longest serving Western correspondents in Iraq, received an out-of-the-blue invitation to sit down with President Bush, Engel writes in the recently published "War Journal: My Five Years in Iraq."

NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert warned him to use caution in his off-camera meeting with the president. "Don't tell them anything you wouldn't broadcast...You want to make sure you stay a reporter."

But by Engel's account, he offered the President a surprising amount of analysis, commentary and advice.

Engel writes that he told Bush that Abdul Aziz Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq and one of the White House's close allies in Iraq, had a reputation of being a liar and was set on establishing an oil rich mini-state allied with Iran. He also told the president that Moqtada al-Sadr's ambition was to become the Hassan Nasrallah [the Hezbollah leader] of Iraq.

"I was laying it all out, insulting the men the president was counting on to democratize Iraq," Engel writes. "Hakim, Sadr, Maliki and his aides weren't up to it or interested."

But perhaps Engel's most striking comment to Bush was some brash advice.

"Sir, you need to become a diplomat," Engel recalls he told Bush. "Since you have been in office, you have focused on war. I think now you need to have a peace process and put the region back together. You have been a war president. You need to become a diplomat."

Engel's meeting with Bush is particularly interesting considering some of the harsh criticism the network's news division has endured recently from the GOP.

Last month, the White House accused NBC News of selectively editing an interview of Bush by Engel that was conducted during the president's recent trip to the Middle East. The White House also seems to be irked by some of the more liberal commentators on the NBC-affiliated cable news channel MSNBC.

"I'm sure you don't want people to conclude that there is really no distinction between the 'news' as reported on NBC and the 'opinion' as reported on MSNBC, despite the increasing blurring of those lines," Bush counselor Ed Gillespie wrote to NBC News President Steve Capus in a letter that was released to the public.

I will be a leading a discussion today with Engel at the Chicago Tribune Printers Row Book Fair. The discussion begins at 1 p.m. at the University Center, 525 S. State St. Readers of the Swamp are encouraged to stop by and take part in the conversation.

by Matthew Hay Brown

The Capitol press corps really is getting younger.

When Nancy Pelosi was installed last year as the first woman speaker of the House, she called on the children and grandchildren of her congressional colleagues to join her at the podium. Today, she observed Bring Your Child to Work Day by inviting reporters to bring their offspring to her weekly question-and-answer session.

It turned out to be an adorable way to cut the press conference short.

After taking a half-dozen questions from the grownups, Pelosi opened the floor to the kids, who grilled her with: "I need to know if you like being Speaker at all?" ("It's fabulous.") And "Who do you like: The Giants, the Orioles or the Nats?" ("I root for all of them, depending on who they play against.")

There were some substantive questions. The boy who asked about her baseball allegiances also wanted to know whether she supported statehood for Puerto Rico ("the status of Puerto Rico is up to the people of Puerto Rico"). A girl asked why the Anacostia River is still so dirty ("I'm going to go find out").

And there were, frankly, a couple of plants.

"What would you do to improve Medicaid if the moratorium that the House approved yesterday became law?" one girl read from a reporter's notepad, to general laughter.

Andrew Zajac
Nearly lost in the flood of presidential primary reportage over the past week was news that President Bush signed into law legislation overhauling the federal Freedom of Information Act.

The federal FOIA law -- and companion open records statutes in state government -- are critical tools for reporters and ordinary citizens to ferret out public information that might otherwise stay hidden.

But in recent years, the federal FOIA has come under increasing criticism because of slowing response times.

The "Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National (OPEN) Government Act of 2007, aims to address that sluggishness by imposing a process for prodding agencies to respond more quickly to records requests.

Posted by William Neikirk at 6:04 a.m. CST

The Anna Nicole Smith story came along at a time when most Americans were focused on more important matters--the Iraqi war, the Iranian nuclear weapons controversy, and the budding presidential campaign

Yet when "serious" people were tuning out oppressive tabloid-style coverage of her death, a significant portion of the American population couldn't get enough of it. Roughly a third of the population followed the Smith story closely, according to the Pew Research Center.

And they gave the press (and by this we mean mostly cable television) high marks for their coverage, even higher than coverage of Iraq, Iran, and the presidential candidates racing around the country in search of donors.

Posted by William Neikirk at 1:40 p.m. CST

Just think about this. You made the cover of Time Magazine as person of the year. Yes, you heard it correctly.

It seemed that Time couldn't come up with a single person of the year, and so its editors came up with what they obviously thought was a brilliant choice. The person of the year is YOU.

So are members of your family and your friends and enemies, too. So are felons, drug users, burglars and bank robbers, not to mention every single politician, lawyer and journalist in the country.

George Bush made it, but so did Hillary Clinton, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, and though I hate to say it, so did Uncle Harry. Please, not Uncle Harry. It will go to his head.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Monday, July 17, as compiled by the Associated Press.

The NAACP is holding its 97th annual convention at the Washington Convention Center and in nearby Arlington, Va. at the Hyatt Regency-Crystal City.

10 a.m. BAYH-MIDDLE CLASS — Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) discusses the future of the American middle class at a National Press Club newsmaker media briefing. Bayh will present reforms that he believes would provide greater economic opportunity, and will critique the Bush administration’s policies that he contends have failed to meet middle-class needs.
Location: National Press Club, Zenger Room.

Good morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, June 30, as compiled by the Associated Press.

President Bush is showing off a bit of Americana to visiting Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, taking him to Elvis Presley's Graceland estate in Memphis. And Bush later in the day campaigns for Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine in Columbus.

June 30 - July 4. FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL — First session of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, focusing on life in the Canadian province of Alberta, evening concerts celebrating African American music from New Orleans, and basketweavers from a wide variety of geographical regions, others.
10:30 a.m. Opening ceremony, with Premier Ralph Klein of Alberta, members of Congress, others.
Location: Mall between 7th and 14th Sts.

Good Morning.

Here are a few Washington events of note for Friday, April 28, as gathered by the Associated Press.

President Bush is meeting with the President Ilham Aliev of Azerbaijan this morning.

8:30 a.m. Commerce Department releases the Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter.

10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. WATER QUALITY — US Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Program releases a nationwide assessment on volatile organic compounds in wells and groundwater.
Location: Room 2318, Rayburn.

Posted by Jill Zuckman 10:55 CST

He was a reporter's reporter. He knew the insides of Capitol Hill like few other reporters. He understood how the federal budget worked, and could actually explain it to people who didn't. And he always had kind and encouraging words for the young reporters coming up behind him. New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum died too soon, after a brutal attack and robbery this weekend. In the Senate press gallery, reporters stood clustered in small groups Monday, mourning the loss of their colleague. Besides his passion for reporting, he was an avid softball player and a constant presence on the tennis courts until a shoulder problem limited his play. We will miss him.