Long-time NBC News correspondent and Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert passed away yesterday after suffering a heart attack at work. I don’t usually write about the passing of famous people, but there was a somewhat personal connection between Mr. Russert and my family (from my point of view, not his).
My dad always enjoyed watching the news on television, and for many years the only network we could receive in our rural southwestern Virginia home was NBC. Meet The Press was one of his favorite news programs, and I watched it along with him enough for me to get hooked on it as well. Dad passed away in 2000, but I continued watching the show on my own for several years. Tim Russert had been the show’s host and moderator since the early 1990′s, and I admired the way he was respectful to his guests while being hard-nosed in his questioning.
Every time I watched Meet the Press I felt that dad was still there with me, nodding in agreement with or mumbling over something the guest had said. In recent years the NBC News team has increasingly slanted their coverage of the news to the left, and that included Meet The Press under Russert. As a result, I began watching the Fox News Network almost exclusively.
Though I haven’t watched Meet The Press for at least a couple of years, I was still very disturbed to hear of Tim’s passing. In a very real way he and his show served as a sort of bridge connecting me with my past and with my wonderful dad.
Rest in peace Tim. Even though we were far apart politically and ideologically, you and the show that came to be synonymous with your name had a major impact on my life. You will be missed.
Timothy John “Tim” Russert
May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008