Help me out, here. Who was the last Celebrity who got this kind of send-off?

[TomInTib]

I am talking about non-royalty or Presidential or Popes.

Hell, even Mickey Mantle didn't get this kind of deal.

Maybe because Bob Ross died less than a month before and stole the Mick's spotlight.

For the life of me, I cannot remember any.

But then, I can barely remember yesterday.

[texasleo]

1. Not even Bob Hope or Lucy.

[book_worm]

11. True.

[sweetpotato]

2. Easy - Anna Nicole

where were you?

[Eurobabe]

3. I don't know, maybe they just can't deal with the Midwest

floating down the river. :shrug:

[mnhtnbb]

15. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I think the media has been told not to cover natural disasters

that would require federal help. It really feels strange to me that the media hasn't been all over
the flooding. It's horrific! Thousands and thousands of people are losing homes--may not have insurance coverage--won't have jobs to go to because businesses are flooded. I mean, what the hell?

One guy who asks questions for a living gets nonstop coverage from the media? Why? Because he's
one of the'media family'?

I don't get it. Feels like something else is behind this, to me. But, maybe I've just underestimated
the egos of the talking heads. They are just falling all over themselves to do what? Talk about a guy who asked questions for a living?

Gimme a break.

[Eurobabe]

20. I don't know why all eyes aren't on the Midwest

this is huge. And it highlights how fucked up Bush is/was for going into Iraq and neglecting yet another part of our infrastructure. America is floating away...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. As someone else noticed, Peter Jennings, who had a longer, more varied career

did not get this kind of send-off.

You may be onto something there.

[babylonsister]

4. NOT Peter Jennings. nt

[blm]

5. Sonny Bono ....yes...another Republican.

They always manage to get Churchillian sendoffs.

[book_worm]

13. Even with Sonny it was nothing like this.

[blm]

28. Are you kidding? It was an entire day of programming on all 3 newschannels and Cspan.

.

[AlCzervik]

6. Frank Sinatra, maybe?

[grasswire]

29. no

Frank Sinatra had a very tasteful private Hollywood funeral with some limited coverage. This has gone on for almost a week now. And I'll wager that more people loved Frank Sinatra than loved Russert.

[AlCzervik]

30. well Sinatra had a world wide audience, i don't about MTP but i think music reaches

a lot more people than american news interview show. You'll remember some time from you past when you hear a certain song but chances are you won't flash back on any MTP episodes.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

7. Hell, even Jesus just got planted in a tomb. But, he didn't have any commercial backers.

[Sequoia]

8. why, Why....WHY all the coverage?

So the news people can avoid the flood story.

[AlCzervik]

10. is it on the channels? My tv is still off.

i don't even know why i bought a new tv, other than watching basketball and movies it's never on.

[Sequoia]

37. The Mississippi River is heading towards you now....RUN !!

[devilgrrl]

9. Princess Diana

I'm so glad that they care so much.

[AlCzervik]

14. yeah, i think maybe that's the right answer.

that was the last really big one i can remember seeing, if other ones happened i totally missed them.

[devilgrrl]

17. Her funeral became the standard. After that, everyone's was televised

.

[AlCzervik]

19. you i swear i read somewhere Russerts funeral was supposed to be private but

then the next line in the article was and i'm not kidding, "It will be televised on M$NBC" which kind of seems like just the opposite of private.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

23. That's what I would say

I know that Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry Truman, and even Ronald Reagan didn't get this much TV time.

One evening of tributes would have been understandable. Russert was, after all, one of their own.

But this so-far five-day Tim-a-thon reminds me of nothing more than what happened at a church I used to attend: Instead of preaching on one of the Bible readings appointed for the day, the priest started eulogizing an old college friend who had died, going on and on about him, taking up all the sermon time. And we in the congregation sat there looking at each other thinking, "Okay, we're sorry your friend died, but we didn't know him, and why are you giving us his whole rather dull life story?"

[ColbertWatcher]

27. I hope Elton John doesn't write a song for him. n/t

[rusty_parts2001]

12. Not Frank Sinatra or Johnny Carson or even Elvis

[Gabi Hayes]

31. Elvis still has thousands and thousands every August. they go through

his grounds, lined up with candles in cups

I was there in 97, for the 20th anniversary of his death, and there were forty thousand that night....I didn't go through, just came to watch the sideshow

pretty amazing

there will be none of that for FatBoy, unless some huckster thinks he can get some lame memory garbage going in Buffalo. doubt it, though.

sooner or later (sooner the better) he'll be long gone and thankfully forgotten, except for the immense damage he helped enable

[LSK]

16. because he was one of them

[JackRiddler]

22. Given that they have a responsibility as an industry to cover the news...

and not simply what is important to them as a community, it's irresponsible.

Do the police get off the street and do nothing but hold a wake for four days when one of their own dies? I missed that. But NBC stopped covering news - may not seem as important a function as the police, of course, and one can argue that it's better than when they do cover it (and distort it, as Timmy and all the rest did).

[LSK]

25. they are not aware of any responsibility to cover the news n/t

[libnnc]

26. Peter Jennings, Frank Reynolds, David Brinkley

Ed Bradley....

None of these journalists got this kind of send off...

I'll throw in Jessica Savitch too that list too.

[LSK]

32. maybe because it was sudden and out of the blue

And perhaps MSNBC doesnt know what they are doing right now.

[libnnc]

36. Savitch died suddenly in a car accident

her car overturned in a canal and she drowned

Cancer took the others

[book_worm]

18. Not even David Brinkley who was prominent newsman/anchor for years.

[book_worm]

21. Cyd Charisse (talk about a golden oldie) just died and I bet she's just a passing mention

[Blue_Tires]

33. hmmm....JonBenet?

Nicole Brown?
John Lennon?
Marvin Gaye?

there may be a 'tragic' celeb death that trumps Russert

[book_worm]

34. John F. Kennedy, Jr.

[japple]

35. Certainly not Jerry Falwell. My TV is turned off too except

for Animal Planet and Pimp My Ride, but I do listen to NPR and they're not making as much of big deal about it as TV news. I guess it's because he was "one of them."