By DPA,
Washington : Tim Russert, a journalist for NBC television and among the most admired in the profession, has died following a heart attack. He was 58.
Russert, the chief of the network’s Washington bureau, collapsed Friday while at work, NBC announced.
Russert hosted the venerable Sunday show “Meet the Press,” the longest running television show in the United States that focused mostly on politics.
President George W. Bush issued a statement while travelling in Europe praising Russert for his dedication as an “institution in both news and politics for more than two decades.”
“Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman,” Bush said. “He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was asgregarious off the set as he was prepared on it.”
Russert was born in Buffalo, New York on May 7 1950. After college and law school, he worked in the US Senate before moving into journalism.
He became Washington bureau chief in 1988 and host of Meet the Press in 1991.