NBC’s Tim Russert Dead At Age 58

 From New York Times:

Tim Russert, the host of “Meet the Press,” and NBC’s Washington bureau chief, has died. He was 58.

Mr. Russert was a towering figure in American journalism and moderated several debates during the recent presidential primary season.

Tom Brokaw, the former anchor of NBC Nightly News, came on the air at 3:39 p.m. that Mr. Russert had collapsed and died early this afternoon while at work. He had just returned from Italy with his family.

Mr. Russert hailed from Buffalo and worked for two prominent New York Democrats, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Gov. Mario Cuomo, before being hired in 1984 by NBC in its Washington bureau. He became bureau chief four years later.

For those of you that pay attention to politics, you know that Russert was one of the few anchors on television that still deserved the title of “journalist,” not just “talking head.” He was one of the few that actually made watching the election news interesting. And now we’re not going to have him around for the most important election in our lifetime. His expertise and integrity will be greatly missed.

Make sure you pour out a good portion of your Friday night 40oz for this dead homie.

Tim Russert’s Wikipedia