On Tim Russert

Pittsboro, NC - The unexpected death of veteran journalist Tim Russert, moderator of the nation’s most watched television news program on Sunday mornings, MEET THE PRESS, is a significant loss to the journalistic world, but a greater loss to the American public. Tim was a valiant servant and guardian of the public trust; as it is a journalist’s call to be. He was an honest broker and champion for America , its principals, ideals and its people; He was a dear ally, a trusted friend that will be missed very dearly.

Tim Russert personified the voluntary dictums of the Journalists’ Code of Ethics. He was fair, just, balanced and thoroughly comprehensive in his reporting and approach to interviewing high profile figures of our time. Watching him question sitting Presidents, prospective candidates and even royalty was like watching a suspenseful who-done-it as you waited breathlessly for his signature question that never failed to expose his interviewee as a hero or heroine or a fraud.