NBC's 'Meet The Press' Host Tim Russert Dead At 58

WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) - Tim Russert, the host of NBC's "Meet the Press" and the American network's Washington bureau chief, died on Friday of a heart attack, NBC said. He was 58.

The MSNBC cable network interrupted its programming for a special report by former anchorman Tom Brokaw who said Russert collapsed and died at work in NBC's Washington bureau after returning from a trip to Italy with his family.

"This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice," Brokaw said. He called Russert a beloved colleague and said his late colleague loved the 2008 political campaign, working to the point of exhaustion week after week.

Russert, who took over "Meet the Press" in 1991 and oversaw a rise in the Sunday program's popularity, was known for both tough questioning of American political figures and a cheerful television persona.

He was also political analyst for "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today" Program, and anchored "The Tim Russert Show," a weekly interview program on CNBC cable-TV channel.
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Wow, what a loss.  I never saw this coming at all.  One of my favorite newsmen.

RIP

This is sad.  This is going to be a great election to cover and watch it be covered, and NBC's coverage without Russert won't be the same.

"Big Russ" would have been proud.

Big Russ IS proud.  Not supposed to be this way, but Dad has outlasted son.  Tho' without Tim managing the Buffalo friends drop-ins from afar, Big Russ's quality of life won't be the same.

Tim was the consummate broadcast journalist, who could grill his guests on Meet the Press better than any prosecutor could cross examine, but who was truly 'fair and balanced.'    I'll be surprised if anyone harbored a grudge against Tim Russert, who brought the oldest show on TV to the very front of the Sunday morning ratings  and kept it there for more than a decade.

As a political junkie on both sides of the border, I'm feeling his loss every much as keenly as the loss of a family member.

A gentleman, a journalist in the most honorable sense, and a genuinely nice guy. One of the last of his kind on television.
He will be sorely missed.

Thanks for the memories, Tim.

What a loss. What a loss. What a loss.

RIP Tim Russert.

i'm almost finished reading (and thoroughly enjoying) his book "Big Russ and Me".  what a huge shock to read online this morning that he's gone.  huge shoes for NBC to fill, to be sure.  RIP Tim and thanks for sharing your childhood via print!

His presense will sorely be missed this Election year.

RIP Tim.