Tim was a leader and role model for everyone who worked with him.
At his core, he was simply a reporter. And he was the finest reporter I have ever known. He was unaffected by celebrity. And like the good Irishman he was, he was blessed with the common touch. He treated everyone who worked for him with equal respect no matter who they were or what they did.
There was a week early in the primary season when the Republican race was muddled. Four pivotal primaries were coming up on the same Tuesday and there was a slim possibility that four different candidates would each win a primary, further muddling the race and making our jobs all the more potentially difficult in the weeks ahead.
During a planning meeting that Monday, chaired by Tim, he ticked off the possible scenarios. When he got to the all-four-could-win option, his eyes lit up, he became animated and excited, and he practically shouted: "Wouldn't that be great?"
He reveled in this year's election. The more challenging it became to cover, the more challenging Tim wanted it to be.
Tim Russert brought the enthusiasm of a 10-year-old boy to our work. He was a leader in the best sense. He earned the trust of embattled politicians, cynical journalists and overburdened church leaders.
At the Washington bureau of NBC News, his home, we loved him like a brother. And he treated us like a family.
Poynter asked Albert Oetgen, a Poynter Ethics Fellow, for his thoughts on Russert's death.
