When journalist Tim Russert died in June, the media expressed buckets of emotion about and reverence toward one of its own. Inevitably, coverage of the coverage emerged, as a few people were willing to voice their distaste for what they saw as unduly hagiographic treatment.
Lewis Lapham (above), former Harper's editor and founder of the newish Lapham's Quarterly, was one of the naysayers. "There was a time in America when the press and the government were on opposite sides of the field," he said in July. "The press was supposed to speak on behalf of the people. The new tradition is that the press speaks on behalf of the government. ... Tim Russert was a spokesman for power, wealth, and privilege.
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