R.I.P. Tim Russert

"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. and reported that Mr. Russert had collapsed and died early this afternoon while at work. . . “Our beloved colleague,” a grave Mr. Brokaw called him, one of the premier journalists of our time. He said this was one of the most important years in his life, with his deep engagement in the network’s political coverage, and that he “worked to the point of exhaustion.” . . . He said he loved his family, his Catholic faith, his country, politics, the Buffalo Bills, the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals. “This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice,” Mr. Brokaw said. . . [T]he network switched to Brian Williams, the anchor of the NBC News, who is reporting from Afghanistan this week. Mr. Williams broke down as he tried to describe what the loss meant to his network family." [New York Times Blog]

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his colleagues, his friends.