This is so sad. Right in the heat of this historic election campaign, we lose one of the best journalists and interviewers.
I will miss seeing Russert on Meet the Press and on MSNBC.
http://www.startribune.com/19908009.html?location_refer=Homepage:highlightModules:1
Tim Russert dies of heart attack at age 58
Tim Russert, host of NBC's Meet the Press, has died of a heart attack, according to the web sites of the New York Times and the New York Post. He was 58.
The Post reports that Russert collapsed at NBC's Washington news bureau, according to an unidentied source. He was 58 years old.
Russert, of Buffalo, N.Y., took the helm of the Sunday news show 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, sparing none of the politicians, business giants and even sports figures who appeared on his show.
Washingtonian magazine once dubbed Russert the best journalist in town, and described "Meet the Press" as "the most interesting and important hour on television.
He also wrote best-selling books, "Big Russ and Me," in 2004, and "Wisdom of our Fathers," in 2006.
This year, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Longtime NBC anchor Tom Brokaw confirmed Russert's death, in a special report on NBC.
Brokaw says Russert's death came during a political campaign that "he loved."
NBC broke into its coverage of the U.S. Open to announce the news and MSNBC suspended regular programming for a report by anchor Brian Williams in Afghanistan and Andrea Mitchell, reporting from NBC's offices in Washington.
"He was always about fairness," Williams told viewers.
"The news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice," Brokaw said in announcing Russert's death.
The New York Post reported that Russert rose from the inside world of politics, where he had been former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo's press secretary and a chief of staff to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.