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NBC's Tim Russert dies at 58 of heart attack
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-14 14:35 He 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. Lawmakers from both parties lined up to sing his praises after his sudden death. 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 reporters 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." Carl P. Leubsdorf, president of the Gridiron Club, an organization of journalists, said, "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 membership in the Gridiron Club after the rules were changed in 2004 to end our century-old restriction to print journalists." Said longtime colleague Brokaw, the former NBC anchor: "He'll be missed as he was loved — greatly." He 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. Russert was married to Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine. The couple had one son, Luke. |
