THE FIRST LEDZEP Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 http://www.nypost.com/seven/06132008/news/..._att_115384.htm TIM RUSSERT DIES By CHARLES HURT Click here to comment June 13, 2008 -- Posted at 3:21 p.m.; Updated at 3:36 p.m. Tim Russert, NBC journalist and political heavyweight host of "Meet the Press," has died after collapsing at NBC's Washington news bureau, a source said. He was 58 years old. Russert, who rose from the inside world of politics where he was former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo's press secretary and one-time chief of staff to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, was able to successfully cross over to political journalism and rise to become one of its leading lights. In his role as host of the seminal Sunday morning political program "Meet the Press" - which he took over in 1991 - he became renowned for his hard-nosed interviews where he frequently cornered some of Washington's cagiest political figures with tough questions. Russert joined NBC News in 1984. In April 1985, he supervised the live broadcasts of the Today program from Rome, negotiating and arranging an appearance by Pope John Paul II - a first for American television. In 1986 and 1987 Russert led NBC News weeklong broadcasts from South America, Australia and China. In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 I was literally about to post this. Well.......what can I say a tragic loss R.I.P. Now he can have John Bonham play Moby Dick for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigstickbonzo Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 He was such a brilliant politico insider. And a great author. He will be deeply missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3hrsoflunacy Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 RIP, one of the few political analyst that I paid attention to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiegirl Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Thank you for posting this, I just turned on NBC and they are all saying lovely things about him. I am not too much into politics, but I always watch him on Sunday mornings. He was way too young,for this to happen to him. He always seemed like such a kind soul, he will be missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katydidgood Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 ohhhhhh nooooo. I really, really loved him. Like 3 hours of lunacy one of the only guys I listened to and believed and felt I could count on for the truth. And his recent book about fathers was such a gift. He will be truly missed. RIP Tim Russert, I am completely shocked by this news--another good guy gone..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirchzep27 Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Very sad, a great reporter and news broadcaster. He really seemed like someone who wanted to cut through what was going on in the news and get to the heart of the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiegirl Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 NBC is doing a special on him right now, Remembering Tim Russert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirchzep27 Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 He actually did a special on his father, or himself and his family, growing up in -buffalo and that was interesting. Gosh, if nbc had alotted him the time for a show like that, i guess they knew he was special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainsbarre Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 oh wow, really? That's sad. I liked Tim. Cut down in his prime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inspiration Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Ok. Since the third minute he expired, every network has been covering this. Enough is enough. I have nothing against the man, but let's move on and continue with the news. It's not hard to imagine that a man of his weight, which has been consistent over the years, would not warrant an event like this. To keep it simple, I am not shocked that he had a heart attack. No one wants to hear that anyone has died. That always hurts the heart. However, we need to move on, as this probably could been prevented had he limited his McDonald's intake.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit_ Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Aww, shucks. Such an unfortunate loss. Tim was a bright spot in an otherwise dimly lit main stream media. A giant redwood now gone from the political journalism landscape. His analysis of the upcoming general election will be missed as will his thoughtful questioning of the politicians involved. [Tim was a devout Catholic, so to him I say..] RIP; may your reunion with Bg Russ be joyous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainsbarre Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Ok. Since the third minute he expired, every network has been covering this. Enough is enough. I have nothing against the man, but let's move on and continue with the news. It's not hard to imagine that a man of his weight, which has been consistent over the years, would not warrant an event like this. To keep it simple, I am not shocked that he had a heart attack. No one wants to hear that anyone has died. That always hurts the heart. However, we need to move on, as this probably could been prevented had he limited his McDonald's intake.......... Oh we need to move on do we? Why because you're all annoyed and tired of hearing about it for 1 day?? Poor bubby.... Let's all be worried about how much you're being inconvenienced... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthekingshorses Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 very sad news. I always looked forward to his commentary and you knew watching Meet the Press that you were getting the most up to date political debate. Sad news in politics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Very sorry to hear this news. Tim was one of my favorites and didn't hold back any punches. IMHO, he wasn't biased and I alway's thought he asked the pertinent questions that I would have asked. One of the few who would. A sad loss for journalism and my regrets go to his family and friends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanna be drummer Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Ok. Since the third minute he expired, every network has been covering this. Enough is enough. I have nothing against the man, but let's move on and continue with the news. It's not hard to imagine that a man of his weight, which has been consistent over the years, would not warrant an event like this. To keep it simple, I am not shocked that he had a heart attack. No one wants to hear that anyone has died. That always hurts the heart. However, we need to move on, as this probably could been prevented had he limited his McDonald's intake.......... Move on to what...? You'd rather hear about which supermarket will save you $20 rather than hear a special on one of the best men in the business of news? RIP Tim, may we never forget you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maven2blue Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 I was shocked and saddened when the news of his death came up on my homepage this morning. He was a distinctive personality among all the talking heads. I can hear his voice as I type this. He will surely be missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattmc1973 Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 Yeah, this is terrible. I watched quite a bit about him last night on MSNBC. This was a guy who asked hard questions of people in power, when others don't have the guts or credentials to do it. Who will do it now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainsbarre Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 (edited) Yeah, this is terrible. I watched quite a bit about him last night on MSNBC. This was a guy who asked hard questions of people in power, when others don't have the guts or credentials to do it. Who will do it now? You still got Wolf Blitzer on CNN Tim Sebastian on BBC World used to be really good. He was probably the toughest interviewer I've ever seen, there was no politeness about him, he used to host the BBC News show 'Hardtalk', and for a lot of the interviewees, it certainly was! Actually there's a great video on youtube where Tim Sebastian is talking to a British-based Hamas representative who supports suicide bombings and Tim asks him if suicide bombings are so wonderful, why doesn't he do it himself... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDz3GnQCsk4 Edited June 14, 2008 by Gainsbarre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadScreamingGallery Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 My deepest condolences to the family of Tim Russert. My heart aches for them. From what I understand, he was very close to his family. I feel incredibly sad about this. I remember Russert from his days working with/for Moynihan and Cuomo. Beyond willingness to ask hard questions and his skill as an interviewer, he was one of only a small number of journalists/interviewers who most people (regardless of their political persuasion) believed was a man of integrity and a man they could trust. Cast a cold eye On life, on death. Horseman, pass by! ~ William Butler Yeats June 13, 2008, 6:22 pm Tim Russert Set Standards Wall Street Journal Gerald F. Seib reports on the death of Tim Russert. Tim Russert looked a little tired Friday morning, but nobody inside his studio at NBC news headquarters in Washington thought too much of it. He’d just gotten back from a quick trip to Rome to visit his son, who was on one of those do-it-while-you’re-young European tours. He told me he had gotten just two hours of sleep on the plane. So he was entitled to look tired. None of that stopped him from taping an hour-long conversation with John Harwood and me for his weekend MSNBC show about a new book we have just published. It’s a book Tim said he loved because it was about the inner workings of a capital and a political system he loved. There were smiles and handshakes and pictures with Tim’s interns after our conversation ended, and John and I left saying to each other the same thing: That was the best interview we’ve done in a long string scheduled to promote our book. A few hours later, Tim was dead, the victim of an unexpected heart attack. The news went beyond shocking, and not just for those of us who were with him in his final hours. In losing Tim with no warning, nearly all of Washington understood in a moment just how large a figure he had grown to be at the intersection of politics and journalism that carries so much traffic within the nation’s capital. Tim had set standards. He had shown how to hold politicians accountable for their own words and promises in a way that was both tough and fair. He reminded all of us on both sides of the journalism-politician divide, that the point of it all wasn’t to impress each other but to serve the viewer, the reader, the voter – the citizen. More than any journalist I know, in print or on air, Tim harkened back constantly to that central truth: politicians and those who cover them are responsible not to each other, but to the common audience of voters to whom they all spoke. And somehow he did all that while making everybody – those who actually knew him and those who knew him only as a T.V. figure – see him as a good guy. Which he was. As it happens, his son, Luke, and my oldest son are similar in age, have a similar love for baseball, and have the same Catholic background. So when it was time to pick a high school for our son, my wife and I called him who graciously and thoughtfully walked us through how he and his wife had made that same decision. It was obvious that Luke occupied a bigger part of his life than anything having to do with T.V., politics or Washington. And indeed this son of Buffalo was a regular guy til the end. Friday morning, as we prepared for what turned out to be his final interview, the NBC makeup crew was concerned that he hadn’t had time to get a haircut, meaning his hair was curling about his ears as we prepared to open his show. I smiled inside. Of all the things Tim might be worried about, that was never likely to be one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 (edited) Peaches in the summer time apples in the fall if I can't have the girl I love I don't want none at all shady grove my little love shady grove I know shady grove my little love I'm bound for shady grove I wish I had a banjo string made of golden twine every tune I play on it I wish that girl was mine shady grove my little love shady grove I know shady grove my little love I'm bound for shady grove I wish I had a needle and thread as fine as I could sew sew that pretty gal to my side and down the road I'd go shady grove my little love shady grove I know shady grove my little love I'm bound for shady grove some come here to fiddle and dance some come here to tarry some come here to fiddle and dance I come here to marry shady grove my little love shady grove I know shady grove my little love I'm bound for shady grove every night when I go home wife I try to please her the more I try the worse she gets damned if I don't leave her shady grove my little love shady grove I know shady grove my little love I'm bound for shady grove shady grove my little love shady grove my darling shady grove my little love I'm going back to Harlan shady grove my little love shady grove I know shady grove my little love I'm bound for shady grove -Doc Watson Edited June 14, 2008 by eternal light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PotBound Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 (edited) Is it not a remarkable thing to be admired by so many industry insiders? Surely that is a noteworthy tribute the man. Seems that he was remarkably consistent in his approach: one may not always agree with Mr. Russert, but he was fair and tough. Honorable. Sadly, 'honorable' behavior seems to be in short supply. Makes the passing of one who behaved so even sadder. Appreciated Doc Watson's [thanks EL] lovely Your Long Journey offered in tribute to Mr. Russert by Plant, Krauss, T Bone, et al last night at their gig in Columbia, MD. Edited June 14, 2008 by PotBound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternal light Posted June 14, 2008 Share Posted June 14, 2008 (edited) Appreciated the lovely Your Long Journey offered in tribute to Mr. Russert by Plant, Krauss, T Bone, et al last night at their gig in Columbia, MD. Also written by Doc Watson. Edited June 14, 2008 by eternal light Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotplant Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 I was shocked when I heard the news. Meet The Press is Americana. I will watch Sunday Morning (one of my faves) tommorrow and Meet The Press after. So sad, he was only 58. Scary too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledbaby Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Solemn note for Mr Russert and his associates. We will miss you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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