NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert Dies at 58
Friday, June 13, 2008
WASHINGTON — NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert has died, NBC reported Friday.
Russert, host of top-rated Sunday talk show "Meet the Press," reportedly died of a heart attack. He was 58.
A noticeably shaken Tom Brokaw made the announcement live from New York, saying his colleague collapsed and died early Friday afternoon in the NBC News bureau in Washington.
Brokaw said Russert had just returned from a trip to Italy with his wife, Maureen Orth, and son, Luke, to celebrate Luke's graduation from Boston College.
"He has been a very familiar face on this network and throughout the world of political journalism as one of the premiere political analysts and journalists of his time," Brokaw said.
Russert grew up in Buffalo, which Brokaw said Russert had just visited last week to assist in moving his father to a new home.
"I think I can invoke peronal privilege to say that this news division will not be the same without his strong clear voice. He'll be missed as he was loved -- greatly," Brokaw said.
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Tim Russert Dies at 58 Russert had hosted "Meet the Press" since 1991, taking the seat from Garrick Utley. Russert also authored two best-sellers, including "Big Russ and Me," which focused on the relationship with his father, and the "Wisdom of Our Fathers."
Russert regularly interviewed the biggest names in domestic and international politics, and moderated presidential debates, including at least three during the 2008 presidential campaign cycle. He was scheduled to host Sens. Joe Biden, D-Del., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Meet the Press has been on network television since 1947, and is the longest running public affairs show.
Russert, who also was an attorney and a former aide to New York former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and Gov. Mario Cuomo (D), had a distinctive on-air style that included posting well-documented quotes and charts on air. During the 2000 election, Russert received light ribbing for repeated references to a white dry-erase board he continued to write on while explaining the ongoing tallies.
Russert's reputation might have been the only one left untarnished by the scandal involving I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and Valerie Plame in the CIA Leak case, which turned on Russert's testimony.
"When Russert said something, it had an enormous impact," said "FOX News Sunday" host Chris Wallace, commenting on Russert's early call that the 2008 Democratic primaries were essentially over, favoring Obama. Obama eventually clinched the number of delegates needed to win and is now the presumptive nominee.
And former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said, "All of us who hae had any connection with Tim Russert are stunned and shocked. He was so vital, so intense, so totally committed to life. ... I think everybody who knew him must be both very said and in a genuine state of shock."
Several sources confirm to FOX News that Russert was in what is known as a tracking booth, recording voice-overs for the upcoming show, and started having problems breathing. He apparently collapsed and an ambulance was called. He was unconscious as he left and never revived.
