NBC News bureau chief and Meet The Press host Tim Russert died Friday of a heart attack. He was 58. Russert was recording voiceovers for Sunday's Meet the Press program when he collapsed, the network said. He and his family had recently returned from Italy, where they celebrated the graduation of Russert's son, Luke, from Boston College.
Russert was best known as host of Meet the Press, which he took over in December 1991. Now in its 60th year, Meet the Press, is the longest-running program in the history of television. But he was also a vice president of NBC News and head of its overall Washington operations, a nearly round-the-clock presence on NBC and MSNBC on election nights. In 2008, Time Magazine named Russert him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.