This week has seen the passing of two major figures in the world of broadcast television.
Last Saturday, Jim McKay of ABC Sports passed on at age 86. On Friday, NBC News' Washington bureau chief and host of "Meet The Press," Tim Russert, collapsed and died of a heart attack.
I had the pleasure of working with both men during my years in broadcast TV.
While McKay and Russert were of two different generations and different political persuasions, what tied the two together was their approach to their jobs.
One a renowned sportscaster, the other a veteran newsman, but both had only one boss -- not the "suits" at ABC or those at NBC.
Russert and McKay would often say their boss was their audience.
Unlike Howard Cosell or Dan Rather, who often tried to be the news rather than report it, neither McKay or Russert would try to personally dominate a story.
In McKay's case, he won respect for his coverage of the massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Russert became known for his coverage of the Florida election controversy during the 2000 presidential campaign.
Both men felt it was their duty to inform, not tell their audiences about such important events.
In Russert's case, being "Meet The Press" host, Washington bureau chief, and an NBC News vice president gave him enormous power not only inside the company, but inside the Beltway as well.
He was probably the most powerful broadcaster in the nation's capital.
Unlike Rather, who while at CBS was hermetically sealed from the news staff by a so-called "British Mafia," Russert enjoyed his contact with the NBC employees in D.C. and at the NYC headquarters at 30 Rock.
Russert also put enormous trust in his staff.
In 1994, during the nuclear crisis between Washington and North Korea, I briefed Tim about an ongoing NBC News investigation regarding Pyongyang's progress developing an atomic weapon.
While our investigation was not yet complete and our conclusions were very tentative, Russert had enough trust and confidence in the work that he took it and personally confronted Secretary of State Warren Christopher on television that Sunday.
Christopher began to sweat and turned ashen as Russert repeatedly peppered the shaken Clinton administration official.
While we still had more work to do to complete the investigation, Russert's faith and trust in what we already did and his confidence in confronting the secretary of state with it meant a lot.
It was that kind of faith and trust which made working for Tim a pleasure.
When I was up for a promotion at NBC News and finished second, Russert took a moment to send a personal letter of apology, something not common in today's business climate.
There is an old simple Yiddish term that aptly describes both men, it is called a "mensch."
A mensch is a "person," one who acts like and treats others as a "person."
In short, it is respect pure and simple.
It is the loss of those qualities that makes the events of the past week so notable.
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