NBC's Tim Russert Dies at 58
Host of 'Meet the Press' Stricken While at OfficeWASHINGTON - Tim Russert, NBC News’ Washington bureau chief and the moderator of “Meet the Press,” died Friday after being stricken at the bureau, NBC News said Friday. He was 58.
Russert was recording voiceovers for Sunday’s “Meet the Press” broadcast when he collapsed, the network said. He had recently returned from Italy, where his family was celebrating the graduation of Russert’s son, Luke, from Boston College.
No further details were immediately available.
A "Meet the Press" grilling was often considered an essential proving ground in the career of any national politician. Russert took the helm of the 60-year-old public affairs program in 1991.
“If you could pass the Tim Russert test, you could do something in this field,” said Howard Fineman, senior Washington correspondent for Newsweek magazine and msnbc.com columnist.
Russert's tenacity as a reporter and his consuming passion for politics was evident during his nearly round-the-clock appearances on NBC and MSNBC on election nights.
Aside from his on-air responsibilities, Russert was a senior vice president and head of NBC's overall Washington operations.
He was “one of the premier political journalists and analysts of his time,” Tom Brokaw, the former longtime anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” said in announcing Russert’s death. “This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice.”
In 2008, Time Magazine named Russert him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In a statement, President Bush called Russert “an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145431/---------------------
So sad. Requiescat in pace.
The coverage on TV has been lovely. There has been a heavy emphasis on his class and decency and especially on the most important things in his life:
faith and family. It's so rare and great to see the mainstream media speaking so warmly of someone's religious faith! One commentator, Newsweek's Howard Fineman, a Jew, was saying that Russert was such a great ambassador for his faith that he was attracted to it.
