Less than a week after the death of legendary sportscaster Jim McKay, the journalism world has been dealt another blow with the sudden death of NBC's "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert. He was 58.
The network said Russert collapsed at work Friday and that he was taken to Washington's Sibley Memorial Hospital, where he passed away.
According to CNN.com, Russert's colleague and former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw announced his co-worker's death on the network just after 3:30 p.m., adding that Russert had just gotten back from a family vacation in Italy to celebrate his son Luke's graduation from Boston College.
President Bush and Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama all expressed their sadness over Russert's passing.
"He was 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. Most important, Tim was a proud son and father, and Laura and I offer our deepest sympathies to his wife, Maureen, his son, Luke, and the entire Russert family," Bush said in a statement Friday.
"He was truly a great American who loved his family, his friends, his Buffalo Bills and everything about politics and America. He was just a terrific guy," McCain said.
Obama said of Russert, "There wasn't a better interviewer in television."
Russert was a graduate of John Carroll University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University and had been working at NBC in 1984. He had been hosting "Meet the Press" since 1991.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment