Tim Russert

host, NBC's Meet the Press

Tim Russert was an American television journalist known best for hosting the political affairs talk show,* Meet the Press*. A 1972 graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Russert also held a degree from Cleveland State University's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law (1976). Before he began his TV career, Russert worked for both U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1977-82) and New York's Governor Mario Cuomo (1983-84), both Democrats. He was hired by NBC in 1984, and by the end of the decade was a bureau chief in Washington, D.C. He took over hosting *Meet the Press* in 1991 and within a few years became NBC's go-to guy in Washington and one of the most prominent political journalists in the business. Russert earned millions of dollars as a no-nonsense, working class guy from Buffalo asking tough questions of newsmakers ranging from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. He also published books, including *Big Russ and Me* (2004, about his dad) and *Wisdom of Our Fathers* (2006, a collection of letters about other dads).