a tribute to tim russert

when i was in journalism school, one of my professors told me something that i will never forget: journalists always take care of their own, meaning that the tributes to journalists are always the most prominent, lengthy and heartfelt.

when a current or former colleague passes away, members of the media make room to pay their respects, either through lengthy front page obituraries in the new york times for print journalists, or with non-stop on-air remembrances on tv for television personalities.

yesterday, tim russert, a force to be reckoned with in the world of policital reporting, died unexpectedly from a sudden heart attack. almost immediately, the 24-hour media cycle paid its respects.

although i'm sure the news spread like wildfire throughout the washington bureaus of various news organizations, everyone respectfully allowed tom brokaw, a senior member of the nbc staff, to break onto air a little after 3:30 to announce tim's death. brokaw's emotion was clearly evident, and all the nbc anchors and correspondents showed their sadness during the rest of the day and in subsequent tributes.

this morning, matt lauer hosted a very special two-hour today show (he doesn't normally host the show on saturdays) dedicated to tim, and brokaw sat in, as well as all of nbc's washington correspondents who worked under tim and called him a father-like mentor.

at the end of the show, matt lauer, sitting behind the news desk in a somber black suit, made a heartfelt dedication to tim, coming close to tears at the end.

tomorrow, brokaw will take over meet the press and dedicate yet another hour to tim tributes, during the time slot when tim would have otherwise been grilling a policitian about something election-related.

all of this makes me very, very sad. i am a big russert fan, and i did watch meet the press quite often. more than anything, i liked his election and political coverage, especially when he would quote politicians and throw their past statements back in their face. he told it like it was. he was real. he will be missed, especially on election night.

it seems unfair that a 58-year-old man, in the prime of his life and the height of his career, could just collapse and die. it hits a little to close to home for me. according to this report "300,000 americans die from cardiac arrest outside a hospital each year." i know too many people who have lost family members, particularly fathers, this way. and my own father suffers from heart disease, so i live in daily fear of something like this occuring.

this is a sad thought on father's day weekend. my heart goes out to those who have lost fathers, not just to heart attacks, but in any way.

if there is any silver lining to this sad and untimely death, it is that us journalists of the next generation should take note and strive to be as genuine, knowledgable and fair as tim russert.

we should also all learn to live each moment to its fullest, and not take anything in our lives for granted. life is precious. live it to the fullest.

more good information and tributes to tim russert here