Tim Russert dies of heart attack

[Mr. Snackpants]

BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and MSNBC
updated 27 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - 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.

Russert was best known as host of “Meet the Press,” which he took over in December 1991. Now in its 60th year, “Meet the Press” is the longest-running program in the history of television.

But he was also a vice president of NBC News and head of its overall Washington operations, a nearly round-the-clock presence on NBC and MSNBC on election nights.

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.

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.

Senate staffer before entering journalism
After graduating from law school, Russert went into politics as a staff operative. In 1976, he worked on the Senate campaign of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and in 1982, he worked on Mario Cuomo’s campaign for governor of New York.

Russert joined NBC News in 1984. In April 1985, he supervised the live broadcasts of NBC’s TODAY show from Rome, negotiating and arranging an appearance by Pope John Paul II, a first for American television. In 1986 and 1987, Russert led NBC News’ weeklong broadcasts from South America, Australia and China.


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Image: Tim Russert

NBC’s Tim Russert
The life of the political journalist

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Of his background as a Democratic political operative, Russert said, “My views are not important.”

“Lawrence Spivak, who founded ‘Meet the Press,’ told me before he died that the job of the host is to learn as much as you can about your guest’s positions and take the other side,” he said in a 2007 interview with Time magazine. “And to do that in a persistent and civil way. And that’s what I try to do every Sunday.”

Cuomo, Russert’s onetime boss, wrote of Russert: “Most candidates are not eager to present themselves for Tim’s incisive scrutiny, which is fed by his prodigious study and preparation. But they have little choice: appearing on ‘Meet the Press’ is today as vital to a serious candidate as being properly registered to vote.”

Russert wrote two books — “Big Russ and Me” in 2004 and “Wisdom of Our Fathers” in 2006 — both of which were New York Times best-sellers.

Emmy for Reagan funeral coverage
In 2005, Russert was awarded an Emmy for his role in the coverage of the funeral of President Ronald Reagan. His “Meet the Press” interviews with George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000 won the Radio and Television Correspondents’ highest honor, the Joan S. Barone Award, and the Annenberg Center’s Walter Cronkite Award.

Russert’s March 2000 interview of Sen. John McCain shared the 2001 Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence in Television Journalism. He was also the recipient of the John Peter Zenger Award, the American Legion Journalism Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Journalism Award, the Allen H. Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism, the David Brinkley Award for Excellence in Communication and the Catholic Academy for Communication’s Gabriel Award. He was a member of the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

Russert was a trustee of the Freedom Forum’s Newseum and a member of the board of directors of the Greater Washington Boys and Girls Club, and America’s Promise — Alliance for Youth.

In 1995, the National Father’s Day Committee named him “Father of the Year,” Parents magazine honored him as “Dream Dad” in 1998, and in 2001 the National Fatherhood Initiative also recognized him as Father of the Year.

Irish America magazine named him one of the top 100 Irish Americans in the country, and he was selected as a Fellow of the Commission of European Communities.

Survivors include Russert’s wife, Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine, whom he met at the 1976 Democratic National Convention; and their son, Luke.

Check back soon for more on this breaking story.
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I'm not big into politics but I always enjoyed watching this guy on MTP. Pretty shocking, he was only 58.

[Roseangelo]

This makes me really sad. He was a great TV personality and really knew what he was talking about concerning the political scene. And I loved watching him go crazy with a white erase board on election nights.

[Machias Banshee]

Jeezum... this really came out of nowhere. He is Seriously going to be missed in the Political world...

[Jo Dawn]

I'm not into politics, but this still shocked me. My condolences for his family and friends.

[Jester]

Indeed. A real shock, TV news won't be the same.

[Kunoichi_Haruko]

Man, 58 years old. Tragic, that is. RIP, Tim Russert.

[Cure]

I actually liked this dude.

[VaughnMichael]

Originally Posted by TheCure

I actually liked this dude.

Yeah me also what a damn shame, R.I.P. Tim!

[ThirdMarioBro]

So here's my take. I was gone all day while the news broke, so I didn't even find out until I came home and saw Conan come out and do a tribute to him at the start of the show. You know something is wrong when Conan skips his enterance and string dance.



There was no better journalist on television. Period. People on each side of the fence always cried that he was "too hard on Republicans", or "too hard of Democrats". That's why he was such a brilliant, thought provoking, and respected journalist. He was hard on everyone, yet always fair. Nobody did more research than him. He held politician’s feet to the fire and demanded answers, and he got more than just about anyone else. While the mainstream media has continually spiraled into a shell of corruption, partisan bias, and shallow propaganda for the past decade, Tim Russert remained an American institution--one we didn't even realize how much we appreciated until we suddenly lost him last week.

It's such a loss to us all that this man is gone in the middle of likely the most important election of our lives. His powerful voice and strong mind will be missed in the coming months and beyond. TV journalism was already in shambles, but without Tim Russert's example, the entire medium looses even more credibility in my eyes.