Baby Boomer Journalist is Dead

Tim Russert, Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News and host of Meet the Press, died today of coronary embolism at the age of 58, NBC has confirmed.

He was apparently at work when it happened. According to Tom Brokow, Russert and his family had just returned from a vacation in Italy where they were celebrating the graduation of their son.

Not to make light of his death, but as a fellow journalist I can tell you the newsroom is a VERY STRESSFUL place. It's a wonder more journalists don't succumb as a result of the daily grind.

Russert's untimely death hits home because he wasn't that old. He was a baby boomer, like me, in the prime of his life. I'll never forget the Meet the Press episode where he pointed out the "lie" Hillary Clinton told about her 1996 trip to Bosnia. Clinton had said, on multiple occasions, that her plane had to make a "corkscrew" landing due to danger and that she had to run off the plane because there could be sniper fire. These statements were false, and Russert produced video of Clinton repeating these statements four different times.

Unlike many journalists who are only out to make a name for themselves, I felt Russert was trying to make a difference and was fair-minded. These days journalists like that are hard to find. He will be missed by those of us who appreciate good, quality journalism.