Russert Hailed As One Of The Best

(This post submitted by Naveen Sharma (248-797-9707) (naveen@4nse.com)

Tim Russert, host of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday after suffering an apparent heart attack. He was 58.

Tom Brokaw, the former anchor of "NBC Nightly News," came on air during a special report Friday afternoon and said Russert collapsed and died while at work in the NBC news bureau in Washington , D.C.

Brokaw said Russert's death came during a political campaign that "he loved." He called Russert a "beloved colleague" and "one of the premier journalists of our time."

"And I think I can invoke personal privilege to say that this news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice," Brokaw said. "He'll be missed as he was loved, greatly."

Russert is survived by his wife, Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine, and his son, Luke. Russert had recently returned from Italy , where his family had been celebrating his son's graduation from Boston College .

NBC released a statement Friday afternoon, calling Russert's passing devastating.

"We have lost a beloved member of our NBC Universal family and the news world has lost one of its finest. The enormity of this loss cannot be overstated. More than a journalist, Tim was a remarkable family man. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Maureen, their son, Luke, and Tim’s entire extended family," Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

NBC colleague Brian Williams said, "He was a giant in our company, in our lives, and in the combined fields of journalism and politics."

Russert joined NBC News in 1984. He took the helm of "Meet the Press" in December 1991 and turned it into the most widely watched program of its type in the nation. His signature trait there was an unrelenting style of questioning.

Earlier this year, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Washingtonian magazine also once dubbed Russert the best journalist in town, and described "Meet the Press" as "the most interesting and important hour on television."

Russert was born in Buffalo , N.Y. , on May 7, 1950. He is a graduate of John Carroll University and also graduated with honors from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

President George W. Bush hailed the newsman as "an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades."

"Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it," Bush said.

Tim Russert will be greatly missed.