Tim Russert passes away

[LetsGoPitt]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Huge loss for the media today. Tim was one of those moderators who let both sides have equal say, but wouldn't put up with BS from any of them. He knew how to pressure people to actually answer the question, but he was never rude or insulting about it. Caught the news flash on the convention center TV (I'm in Philly for a work-related meeting) and I can't believe it. I always felt he was the voice of reason during all those never-ending primary news coverages.

RIP Tim...whoever is tapped to host Meet the Press has some huge shoes to fill.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Sobering news.. I can't believe we won't be hearing his voice ever again. You will be missed.

[JayBee74]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Just revealed he had a stress test 6 weeks ago ,and no problems were detected.

[Spectre]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Russert was a guy who was continuously faced accusations by both Democrats and Republicans of being biased

That's the sign of a great journalist- political coverage lost its brightest figure today. RIP

[WazzuRC]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

RIP. The era of balanced, moderate political coverage is coming to an end too quickly.

[colkilla]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

no doubt the guy was un-biased. i tried like hell to get a read on him and his agenda over the years, but to no avail. the mark of a truly neutral figure, just seeking to be the best journalist he could be. he also was great in the community around DC. may have been a loyal native of buffalo but he had also accepted the DC metro area as his own. did great things in the community, esp with the boys and girls clubs. he will be missed to say the least...

[jmood88]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

I don't know how many people were watching MSNBC earlier but Keith Olbermann really looked shook up. I can't believe he's dead, it's crazy how fast life can be taken away.

[bigeastbumrush]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

I just came home and saw the headline on Yahoo. Couldn't believe it for a second.

I let out a big "WHAT?"

So, so sad. He was like a fixture.

I'm so upset.

[JayBee74]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

I don't know how many people were watching MSNBC earlier but Keith Olbermann really looked shook up. I can't believe he's dead, it's crazy how fast life can be taken away.

Yeah, Keith was quite a bit out of sorts. One of the two co authors who was interviewed by Russert this morning said he thought "Tim wasn't feeling well". Later it was disclosed that Tim did some early work on the treadmill this morning. Ted Koppel said Tim worked TOO hard and was hinting that it might have played a role in his early death.

[Brandon13]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Did Chris Matthews ever get in front of the camera today? I think he and Russert were good friends.

[JayBee74]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Did Chris Matthews ever get in front of the camera today? I think he and Russert were good friends.

Yeah, Matthews was on location in another country I believe bundled up on a chilly night. He acknowledged that he wasn't a close friend of Russert. Chris related the David Duke(at the time racist Duke was running for Governor of Louisiana) interview, in which Russert asked Duke to name the top three companies in Louisiana, and Duke couldn't.

[SPTO]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Did Chris Matthews ever get in front of the camera today? I think he and Russert were good friends.

Mathews is in Paris following Bush's trip and yes he did get on camera. He was obviously shaken up as well. If anyone missed it it was revealed by Russert's doctor that he had a coronary heart disease which a lot of his co-workers didn't really know about. It was also revealed that the cause of death was a coronary strombosis.(I think I got that right)

I watched a lot of the coverage tonight and the loss of Russert is just going to kill the NBC political news division. He was like a father to a lot of his co-workers and that loss will not only affect them personally but really be a huge blow to the quality work that NBC/MSNBC has done for years when it comes to political journalism. MEET THE PRESS is also going to see a huge decline unless they find a diligent and hard working moderator who will do his/her homework the way Russert did.

Now that loss is HUGE but it pales in comparison to the loss of his wife and son. Everyone talked glowingly of Tim's family values and how family was a huge part of his life. As great of a newsman and bureau chief that he was, he was an even greater father.

I have never been as shaken up by a news personality's death as I am with Russert. The man was taken away all too soon.

[Brandon13]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Here's Tom Brokaw breaking the news:

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Amazing to see the impact he had on everyone who worked at NBC news. Brokaw had a hell of a time getting through that.

[eXperiment63]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

Wow... Brokaw is one of the most recognizable names in news, and you can see what kind of effect this had on him. I mean damn, he could barely speak, and you could tell he was mixing his words he was reading off of the teleprompter.

[spankdatazz22]

Re: Tim Russert passes away

I didn't hear the news until yesterday evening and it made me gasp out loud. I loved Tim on Meet the Press and thought he easily the best at what he does - always fair/neutral, always asking great questions, and a fantastic moderator. When he moderated roundtable discussions you rarely (if ever) heard a debate become incoherent because of people talking out of turn or yelling. He'll be missed - RIP