Tim Russert

In his twenty-minute interview (which was the be the first part of a multi-part interview), Tim Russert (1950-2008) speaks about his early years growing up in Buffalo, NY and his decision to go to law school. He talks about his transition to television news, joining NBC News in 1984 as a vice president, and working closely with his mentor, NBC president Lawrence Grossman. He chronicles his next career moves: in 1988, he became the Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief of NBC News, and in 1991 he joined Meet the Press as its moderator. He discusses meeting with Meet the Press co-creator Lawrence Spivak, who gave him the advice to "learn as much as you can about your guest and his and her position on the issues, and then take the other side." He took this advice to heart in his over 16 years at the helm of Meet the Press . He also reveals what he considers to be the biggest news story of his career: the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States. Russert worked for NBC News for over two decades and at the time of his untimely death, he was the longest-serving moderator on Meet the Press. Karen Herman conducted the interview in Washington D.C. on the set of Meet the Press on October 12, 2003.