He and Conan seemed quite friendly.
NBC's Tim Russert dies at 58 after collapsing
Tim Russert, who pointedly but politely questioned hundreds of the
powerful and influential as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," died
suddenly Friday while preparing for his weekly broadcast. The
network's Wa****ngton bureau chief was 58.
In addition to his weekly program, Russert appeared on the network's
other news shows, was moderator for numerous political debates and
wrote two best-selling books.
President Bush, informed of Russert's death while at dinner in Paris,
swiftly issued a statement of condolence that praised the NBC 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."
NBC interrupted its regular programming with news of Russert's death
and continued for several hours of coverage without commercial break.
The network announced that Tom Brokaw will anchor a special edition of
"Meet the Press" on Sunday, dedicated to Russert.
Competitors and friends jumped in with superlative praise and sad
recognition of the loss of a key voice during a historic presidential
election year. Personally, Russert was a family man and a father
figure to his colleagues. Parenting organizations several times had
named him Father of the Year.
Familiar faces such as Brokaw, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams took
turns mourning his loss.
"Our hearts are broken," said Mitchell, who appeared emotional at
times as she recalled her longtime colleague.
Bob Schieffer, Russert's competitor on CBS' "Face the Nation," said
the two men delighted in scooping each other.
"When you slipped one past ol' Russert," he said. "You felt as though
you had hit a home run off the best pitcher in the league. I just
loved Tim and I will miss him more than I can say."
The cause of death was not immediately clear. The network initially
said on its Web site that Russert died of a heart attack. Michael A.
Newman, Russert's internist, later said that resuscitation was begun
immediately and continued at Sibley Memorial Hospital, to no avail. An
autopsy was pending, Newman said.
Russert, of Buffalo, N.Y., took the helm of the Sunday news show in
December 1991 and turned it into the nation's most widely watched
program of its type. His signature trait there was an unrelenting
style of questioning that made some politicians reluctant to appear,
yet confident that they could claim extra credibility if they survived
his grilling intact.
He was also a senior vice president at NBC, and this year, Time
magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the
world.
Russert had Buffalo's blue-collar roots, a Jesuit education, a law
degree and a Democratic pedigree that came from his turn as an aide to
the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York.
One of his books, "Big Russ and Me," was about his relation****p with
his father.
On Sunday's program, Russert was to have interviewed Sens. Lindsey
Graham, R-S.C., a national co-chair of the McCain campaign, and Joe
Biden, D-Del., an Obama sup****ter, in a debate format as surrogates
for the two presidential candidates. The network said plans for
Sunday's show were now uncertain.
Praise flowed quickly from those who knew Russert across the
television interview room.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Russert was "the best in the
business at keeping his interview subjects honest."
"There wasn't a better interviewer in television," Sen. Barack Obama,
the Democratic presidential contender, told re****ters in Ohio.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama's rival for the White
House, hailed Russert as the "pre-eminent journalist of his
generation."
Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the House Republican leader, said Russert
was "one of the smartest, toughest television news journalists of all
time. ... I can say from experience that joining Tim on 'Meet the
Press' was one of the greatest tests any public official could face."
Carl P. Leubsdorf, president of the Gridiron Club, an organization of
journalists, said in a statement, "It was a measure of the degree to
which Tim Russert was respected in the journalistic world that he was
the first broadcaster elected to member****p in the Gridiron Club after
the rules were changed in 2004 to end our century-old restriction to
print journalists."
"He was an enthusiastic member and a willing participant in our shows.
His fellow Gridiron members join with all of those who knew and
respected Tim in mourning his untimely death."
"It is my sad duty to re****t this afternoon" that Russert collapsed
and died while working in the network's Wa****ngton studios, Brokaw
said when he came on the air.
"He'll be missed as he was loved =97 greatly," Brokaw said.
The network said on its Web site that Russert had been recording
voiceovers for this Sunday's "Meet The Press" when he was stricken.
Russert had dozens of honorary college degrees, and numerous
professional awards.
He won an Emmy for his role in the coverage of President Ronald
Reagan's funeral in 2004.
He was married to Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine. The
couple had one son, Luke.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080613/ap_on_en_tv/obit_russert
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