More on Russert

I borrowed this quote from CBS...

CBS offers this quote from Walter Cronkite:

“Broadcast journalism lost one of its greats today. Tim Russert was a giant in our field – a standard-bearer of journalistic integrity and ethics. His masterful interviews and round-table discussions are legendary. This is a tragic loss for journalism and for all who were privileged to know him.”

Russert was just fair. He was Catholic, but he never let his religion get in the way of his reporting. He did his homework, as every good jounalist should. He asked the right questions, demanded answers, and never backed down. He did all of this in a way that never angered his guests. He treated them with the utmost respect. Tim came to Milwaukee to shoot an episode of meet the press the weekend that my station hosted a Presidential debate in 2004. Non-essential employees were not allowed to hang around (I was considered non-essential, but man was I dying to attend the taping!) so I never got to meet him. But I heard he was so gracious to everyone who came in that day.

Above everything else, he was a husband, father, and son. My deepest condolences to his family, and his extended family at NBC. Young journalists, and young people in general can look to the man as an example both personally and professionally.