Remembering Tim Russert
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3898804/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25173166#25173166
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/15/russert.sunday/index.html
Longtime CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite said, "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 roundtable discussions are legendary. This is a tragic loss for journalism and for all who were privileged to know him."
But colleagues who knew him best also praised his warmth, and described him as a mentor.
"I think it's so poignant that we're talking about Tim on Father's Day because he was a father to so many of us," said California first lady Maria Shriver, who once worked for NBC.
On Friday, NBC chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell said, "He was always teaching each of us to be as rigorous as he was in looking at all the facts, examining everything and then being as balanced and fair and down-the-middle as anyone could possibly be."
Washingtonian Magazine once dubbed Russert the best and most influential journalist in Washington, D.C., describing "Meet the Press" as "the most interesting and important hour on television."
In 2008, Time Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. His two books -- 2004's "Big Russ and Me" and 2006's "Wisdom of Our Fathers" -- were both New York Times bestsellers.
[Edited at 2008-06-15 17:55]