When I was involved with NBC-News in the 1980s, I dealt with Larry Grossman, the then president of NBC-News (he later became president of PBS). Larry was the one who tried hard to fend off corporate pressures on the network--regardless whether he was successful or not. Tim Russert was seen as the corporate pick to respond to corporate pressures in budgeting and in coverage. He became the favorite boy of Jack Welch--one of the most notorious (and ruthless) figures in corporate America.