I didn't know Mr. Russert, but having spent a lot of time on the East Coast and attending many basketball games at the MCI center I was fortunate to sit next and share dialogue with this very noble humanbeing. What a great personality, a true server of the greater good.
Timothy John Russert, Jr. (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008 was an American journalist who hosted NBC's Meet the Press. Serving 16½ years as moderator, he was the longest-serving host of the program. He was NBC News' Washington Bureau Chief and also hosted the self-titled CNBC/MSNBC weekend interview program Tim Russert. He was a frequent correspondent and guest on NBC's The Today Show and Hardball. He co-hosted the network's presidential Election Night coverage and presented the polling results of the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey on the NBC Nightly News. Russert collapsed and died at his office in Washington on Friday June 13, 2008. On the afternoon of June 13, 2008, while recording voice overs for the Sunday Edition of Meet the Press, Russert collapsed at the Washington D.C. Bureau of NBC. Despite immediate attempts at resuscitation by EMS and transportation to Sibley Memorial Hospital, Russert never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead a short time later. News of his death was reported live on NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC by Tom Brokaw. He had just returned from a family vacation in Italy, where he went to celebrate his son's graduation from Boston College. An autopsy was ordered to be performed to determine the cause of death.On the evening of his death, the entire, nearly commercial-free half hour of NBC Nightly News was dedicated to Russert's memory, featuring previous news segments with Russert and interviews with some of Russert's colleagues.
