Friday, June 13, 2008

News legend Tim Russert dies at 58

NBC has just reported that "Meet the Press" producer and anchor Tim Russert died today of a heart attack while prepping for this Sunday's edition of his show. I am speechless. Russert was a great reporter and I will forever remember him for the "whiteboard" role he played covering the 2000 presidential election. Journalism has today lost one of its greats. My condolences to his family and colleagues.

NBC's report follows:
BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and MSNBC
updated 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Tim Russert, NBC News’ Washington bureau chief and the moderator of “Meet the Press,” died Friday after a sudden heart attack at the bureau, NBC News said Friday. He was 58.

Russert was recording voiceovers for Sunday’s “Meet the Press” program when he collapsed, the network said. No details were immediately available.

Russert, the recipient of 48 honorary doctorates, took over the helm of “Meet the Press” in December 1991. Now in its 60th year, “Meet the Press” is the longest-running program in the history of television.

In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Timothy John Russert Jr. was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on May 7, 1950. He was a graduate of Canisius High School, John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was a member of the bar in New York and the District of Columbia.