Tim Russert: 1950-2008 June 13, 2008

Alex Wong/Getty Images file; used in MSNBC.com link

I was surprised, shocked, and saddened to learn about a half ago that Tim Russert has died of an apparent heart attack today.  He was 58.

Tim was a great man, a giant in broadcast news, and one of my broadcasting inspirations.  In July 2004, as I was beginning my run at WGBB, I bought and listened to the audiobook for his book “Big Russ & Me,” about his love and appreciation for his father.  I listened to it again with my dad two months later, as we drove to Penn State, my sister’s alma mater (she was a senior at the time), to watch a Nittany Lions football game against UCF (the University of Central Florida) at Beaver Stadium.  Flooding along the Delaware Water Gap – as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan – forced us to turn around on I-80 near the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border and drive home, giving my dad and I an opportunity to listen to more of that touching book.

My condolences to Tim’s wife Maureen Orth, his son Luke, his extended family, and his father, the original Tim Russert: Big Russ himself.