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According to the Los Angeles Times' Scott Collins, the Scotter Libby trial has exposed the fact that "to some Washington media types on both the right and the left, [Tim Russert is] just a tool for the powerful."

Russert, of course, hosts NBC's "Meet The Press," and he has long had a reputation as a tough questioner. Collins seizes on comments by a former Cheney press aide who pushed for Cheney to appear on Russert's show. The aide reportedly said the show was "our best format," a place where the Cheney team could "control the message."

I don't agree with Collins' implication here. Russert's show is arguably the most high profile regular platform available to a politician, and a successful appearance can indeed give him a boost. It's thus no surprise that Cheney's aide would want him on the show. But that doesn't mean that Russert is simply a tool for the powerful.

An interview is a complicated negotiation, but one thing is clear: The interviewee is not going to appear if he doesn't think he can gain by doing so. People submit to interviews because they have something to sell, whether it’s a new movie or a plan for Iraq. If Russert were simply to hammer Cheney for the duration of the interview, Cheney wouldn't show up in the first place.

At the same time, if Russert were to be too accommodating he would lose his reputation as a tough interviewer. His show would lose its luster as a result, and Cheney would forfeit the credibility a strong appearance on "Meet the Press" and the other Sunday shows gives him.

If an appearance on "Meet The Press" is simply a dog and pony show guaranteed to benefit a politician, after all, someone forgot to tell John Edwards. His 2002 appearance on the show is widely remembered as a disaster, one that put a significant dent in his presidential aspirations.

Is Public Eye a vehicle for CBS to take “potshots” at other networks? The answer, as anyone who’s spent more than a few minutes looking at us could easily discern, is no. But that’s what Scott Collins claims today in his Los Angeles Times blog, Channel Island. If anyone is taking potshots here, it’s Collins. Or should I extrapolate in kind and just say it's the Los Angeles Times taking aim at CBS?

Collins points to recent post by Brian Montopoli, in which he wonders whether the “Dateline” series “To Catch A Predator” goes “too far” in crossing a line of investigative reporting, and makes it into an attack on all of NBC by all of CBS. Really, that’s what he claims:

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