I was truly shocked at the sudden passing of NBC’s Tim Russert, moderator of “Meet the Press.” Much has been written about the man, by people who knew him personally. I only saw him on the little screen. But his death will change how American institutions, such as election night coverage, will proceed.


For those folks who aren’t news junkies, or who are much younger than I, a trip through the wayback machine: “Meet the Press” is the news show that your parents and your grandparents watched before the advent of cable TV. Religiously. It had a little tint of the “gotcha” factor typical of “60 Minutes,” but was more politically oriented. It was — and is — a way to get more in-depth knowledge about the newsmakers beyond their practiced sound bites heard on the evening news. Before Tim Russert, moderators acted in a way that we now refer to as “the voice of God.” Don&rsq