Tim Russert, who pointedly but politely questioned hundreds of the powerful and influential as moderator of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday of an apparent heart attack. The network's Washington bureau chief was 58.
In addition to his weekly program, Russert made periodic appearances on the network's other news shows, was moderator for numerous political debates and wrote two best-selling books.
NBC interrupted its regular programming to announce Russert's death, and in the ensuing moments, familiar faces such as Tom Brokaw, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams took turns mourning his loss.
Williams called him "aggressively unfancy."
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.
Tim Russert was very, very good at what he did for a living, and in an age when many of us view television journalism with much skepticism he was a bit of a throwback to an older generation. He always seemed more blue collar than Ivy League; more kid from Buffalo than Washington insider. I always thought it was fitting that he was written into the storyline for the show Homicide, which was more "dirt under your fingernails" than flashy nonsense.
Mr. Russert used to come into my bookshop in Washington, where we would act out a little ritual. He would ask for a book which we always carried. I would check the computer only to discover that we had sold our last copy the previous day, and we wouldn't get a replacement copy for two more days. Russert would sadly shake his head and continue to browse. One time he did ask, "How do you never have what I'm looking for?" I'll admit it was uncanny.
The thing is, despite our many failings he always came back when he was in the neighborhood. He was simply a nice guy.
Damn.
R.I.P.
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