"You're the best!" "No, YOU'RE the best!!" - Salon on talking head whores

[TacticalPeek]

"You're the best!" "No, YOU'RE the best!!"

How Tim Russert, Bill O'Reilly, Chris Matthews and their talking-head pals wet-kiss each other all the way to the bank.

- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Scott Lamb

June 19, 2004 | "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert's recent book, "Big Russ and Me," hasn't just irritated grammarians, it's surely rankled a TV audience weary of hearing Russert -- supposedly our most serious of interlocutors -- talk any more about his dear old dad. In just a month's time, Russert has conquered a stunning array of media outlets, including, but not limited to: "Today" (NBC), "Dateline NBC" (NBC) "Hardball with Chris Matthews" (MSNBC), "Capital Report" (CNBC), "The News" (CNBC), "American Morning" (CNN), "Larry King Live" (CNN), "Wolf Blitzer Reports" (and "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer") (CNN), "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central), "Reliable Sources" (CNN), "The O'Reilly Factor" (Fox) and "Hannity & Colmes" (Fox) -- twice.

That's a lot of attention for a book about Russert's father and other mentors, and modestly described as "a fond look back to the 1950s Buffalo neighborhood of his youth." While he's garnered reviews ranging from respectful to ringing, make no mistake: It's the relentless TV appearances that have caused Russert's book to loiter at the top of the bestseller list for the four weeks it's been out.

He's not the only one; most media figures' books rarely rate a serious review, since they frequently aren't handled too seriously in the first place. As Fox's Sean Hannity told Fox's Greta Van Susteren earlier this year while plugging his bestselling "Deliver Us From Evil": "The entire book came to me in about a one-hour period, including the title, chapter titles, the ideas." So instead of critical raves from those egghead reviewers, the talking-head class relies upon each other to help them move units, and -- as Russert's impressive, cross-channel promotion proves -- network rivalries tend to fade when it comes to helping one's own. Because as the guide below shows, when it comes to promoting a book, nothing helps more than a little backscratching between friends.

MUCH more, with neat photoshop
http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2004/06/19/big_russ

[gumby]

1. About Timmy

I've seen Timmy on many of these shows talking about the "values" of "Big Russ."

My screaming at the screen is always the same: Well, seems you didn't learn ANYTHING, did you LITTLE Russ? Barf, ick, yuck.

[TacticalPeek]

2. kick