WASHINGTON — Tim Russert, a political lifer who made a TV career of his passion with unrelenting questioning of the powerful and influential, died of a heart attack Friday in the midst of a presidential campaign he’d covered with trademark intensity. Praise poured in from the biggest names in politics, some recalling their own meltdown moments on his hot seat.
Russert, 58, was a political operative before he was a journalist. He joined NBC a quarter-century ago and ended up as the longest-tenured host of the Sunday talk show “Meet the Press.”
He was an election-night fixture, with his whiteboard and scribbled figures and was moderator for numerous political debates. He wrote two best-selling books, including the much-loved “Big Russ and Me” about his relationship with his father.
He was NBC’s Washington bureau chief.
President Bush, informed of Russert’s death while at dinner in Paris, saluted him as “a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it.”
NBC interrupted its regular programming with news of Russert’s death and continued for several hours of coverage without commercial break. The network announced that Tom Brokaw would anchor a special edition of “Meet the Press” on Sunday, dedicated to Russert.
Competitors and friends jumped in with superlative praise and sad recognition of the loss of a key voice during a historic presidential election year. Known as a family man as well, he had been named Father of the Year by parenting organizations.
Familiar NBC faces such as Brokaw, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams took turns mourning his loss.
Williams called him “aggressively unfancy.”
“Our hearts are broken,” said Mitchell, who appeared emotional at times as she recalled her longtime colleague.
Bob Schieffer, Russert’s competitor on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said the two men delighted in scooping each other.
“When you slipped one past ol’ Russert,” he said, “you felt as though you had hit a home run off the best pitcher in the league. I just loved Tim and I will miss him more than I can say.”
NBC said Friday evening that Russert died of a heart attack. Michael Newman, Russert’s internist, said resuscitation was begun immediately and continued at Sibley Memorial Hospital, to no avail. An autopsy was pending, Newman said.
Russert, of Buffalo, N.Y., took the helm of the Sunday news show in December 1991 and turned it into the nation’s most widely watched program of its type. His signature trait was an unrelenting style of questioning that made some politicians reluctant to appear yet confident that they could claim extra credibility if they survived his grilling intact.
“I can say from experience that joining Tim on “Meet the Press” was one of the greatest tests any public official could face,” said Rep. John Boehner, House Republican leader. “Regardless of party affiliation, he demanded that you be straight with him and with the American people who were watching.”
Russert was also a senior vice president at NBC, and this year Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
He was married to Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair magazine. The couple had one son, Luke.
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