Tim Russert was an American television journalist and lawyer . Timothy John `` Tim '' Russert ( May 7 , 1950 â `` June 13 , 2008 ) was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC 's Meet the Press . He was a senior vice president at NBC News , Washington bureau chief and also hosted the eponymous CNBC\/MSNBC weekend interview program Tim Russert .