Tim Russert and the curse of 13
Shortly after 1:30 in the afternoon of June 13 , 2008 , Russert collapsed at the offices of WRC-TV , which houses the Washington, D.C. bureau of NBC News where he was the Bureau Chief, while recording voiceovers for the Sunday edition of Meet the Press . The District of Columbia Fire and Rescue service received a call from NBC at 1:40 and dispatched an EMS unit which arrived at 1:44. Paramedics on scene attempted to defibrillate Russert's heart three times, but he did not respond. Russert was then transported to Sibley Memorial Hospital , arriving at 2:23, and was pronounced dead at the hospital a short time later. [21] In accordance with American journalistic tradition, the public announcement of Russert's death was withheld by both the wire services and his network's competitors. [22] After Russert's family had been notified, retired NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw delivered, live on NBC, CNBC and MSNBC , the news of his death. [23] Russert had just retu...