I’ve just learned Tim Russert is dead of a heart attack.
Update: I’m watching the MSNBC retrospective, and I’m struck by the absence of Chris Matthews, even during his regular program time. Keith Olbermann is playing chief moderator. I don’t know if this means anything.
7 Comments 
Oh dear God no…..
Yeah too bad the guy was only 58? If they (GE) are smart they will give the meet the press gig to Chuck Todd, he’s the only one with the temperment and knowledge to do that job as well as Russert did.
Maha, they just did a live feed with Matthews from Paris. I was only half-watching, but it looked like it was the first he’d heard of it, which considering the time difference makes sense.
it is sad to see Tim Russert (or anyone) die at such an age,
and i truly feel bad for his family. i am sure he was a decent person. I wish them nothing but peace in the coming days.
HOWEVER, he was a cheerleader for the war, and he was Rush Limbaugh & Dick Cheney’s favorite newsman. he wasn’t one of mine.
the thing that really bothers me is the way the TV folks are covering this. you would think he was the pope. Suarez on PBS called him a journalist and an insider…seems to me those two cancel each other out…..which is the problem with TV news specifically and the MSM in general these days.
It’s interesting that there are about as many identifying Russert as ‘right-wing’ as there are those calling him ‘liberal’ (and other less appealing things). He, among the most-known in the media, did a pretty fair job of asking tough questions of everybody. A mark of his work has always been that everybody, on every side, WANTED to be interviewed by Russert. There’s something there to be considered.
Of course he’ll be missed. He is already. Now we get to obsess over who will take his seat on MTP. Matthews is a non-starter. Todd doesn’t have the clout. Keith is fine where he is. Russert was a VP of NBC, not just a reporter. That’s hard to replace.
Let’s just hope we don’t get Katie Couric on Sunday morning.
He, among the most-known in the media, did a pretty fair job of asking tough questions of everybody.
He asked shallow tough questions of everybody. As an interviewer, he had lots of room for improvement, and I stopped watching Meet the Press awhile back. By all accounts he was a lovely man, however.
We could go on for a couple of hours over what ‘tough’ might mean, but I have to agree that none of them really goes ‘deep’… one or two questions in a group and on to the next topic is pretty much what we get. Still, he covered a wide range, and he knew his ground better than most. That beats haigiography every time.
Jun 13, 2008 
