Tim Russert, the host of "Meet the Press" and Washington bureau chief of NBC News, died today of a coronary embolism. He was 58.Russert was the steady hand that steered the ship of "Meet the Press" and helped make it into a hugely profitable show for the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) network. No other competitors even came close to matching it in the TV ratings.
As NBC News -- particularly MSNBC -- became the whipping boy of the GOP, Russert stood as a beacon of calm in an increasingly noisy media world. He earned the respect of people across the political spectrum for treating people in both political parties fairly. His show became must-see viewing for political junkies both inside and outside the beltway.
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