Friday, June 13, 2008

Tim Russert was an American hero

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 there 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. (AP, by David Espo and Laurie Kellman)

As far as I'm concerned, Russert was the best. He was always polite, yet demanded... and often got... answers. He's a huge loss for journalism. I was actually fortunate to meet him once. He was speaking at Quinnipiac about ten years ago and I caught up with him as he was walking to his car. It was only passing encounter, but he was very friendly and listened to my concerns... he's a loss as both a genuinely nice person and as a pillar of journalism.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tim Russert was a class act.

A true journalist who asked tough questions without political bias.

A gentleman shaped by the best of American values -- God, country, community, family.

He will be missed, but let’s be thankful that we’ve been blessed by his high standards, his honesty, his decency, and his example.

Anonymous said...

Tim,

I have to say that I was shocked when I read that Time Russert pass away. IMHO he was one of the best. I have both of his books and waited online for an hour to have them personalized. He was one of the only newsmen and moderators that was fair and hard on both sides of the isle.

I didn't realize that he would bargain his own contract without the need of an agent. He just loved his job, his life and his family.

God has a wonderful person to debate with now and we should all remember that we will only find out the reasons why God does what he does when we finally get called to leave this earthly life and join our maker in heaven. It's only then all of our questions will be answered and make sense.

God Bless Tim and his family.

Mike Rocci