I'm watching Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams eulogize NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert right now. If you don't know by now, Russert died this afternoon at work from an apparent heart attack.
I've never met Russert, Brokaw or Williams, but all three strike me as pretty good guys. I admire their self-deprecating self of humor and their objective style of reporting.
It's a sad day, for sure, for the world of journalism, and that goes without saying. But watching Brokaw choke back tears as he goes on and on, extemporaneously, about his colleague - I genuinely feel sadness for the people who lost their friend.
Williams is in Afghanistan right now, and he appears more composed. But it's touching that MSNBC is staying live on this story - just talking about the loss. No commercials, no stories about the floods. Just an impromptu tribute from two veterans -- in the memory of another.
For what it's worth, I'll miss Russert's work, too. He was one of the good ones.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
