Brokaw steps in for Russert

In the wake of the unexpected passing of Meet the Press journalist Tim Russert, NBC has turned to a familiar face to carry the network’s top-rated Sunday news program through the November election: former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw.

Brokaw is uniquely qualified to fill not only the Meet the Press role, but fill in as the network’s Washington Bureau Chief and political expert in the short term, as the network news big-wigs plan out the future of the position, which may eventually be split into two or three separate roles. Certainly, in addition to his on-air role, Russert filled at least two admin jobs among his duties.

Still, no one will replace Russert, who embodied the “fair and balanced” ethic Fox News adopted for its branding; Russert asked tough questions of members of both parties, which is the epitome of “fair and balanced,” and his presence on NBC News will be missed, and certainly personalities like Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and others are pale imitations at best.