Video

** COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107,any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only. [Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/1 7/107.shtml] http://www.cnn.com/ (CNN) -- Tim Russert, who became one of America's leading political journalists as the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday, according to the network. He was 58. The network said he collapsed at work Friday. He was taken to Washington's Sibley Memorial Hospital where he died, the hospital confirmed. Colleague and former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw broke the news on the network Friday shortly after 3:40 p.m., saying Russert had just returned from a family vacation in Italy to celebrate the graduation of his son, Luke, from Boston College. President Bush on Friday expressed sorrow over Russert's death and admiration for his professionalism. "He was an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades. Tim was a tough and hardworking newsman. He was always well-informed and thorough in his interviews. And he was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it," Bush said in a statement Friday. "Most important, Tim was a proud son and father, and Laura and I offer our deepest sympathies to his wife, Maureen, his son, Luke, and the entire Russert family," he said. Sen. Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, said he had known Russert since Obama spoke at the party convention in 2004. "There wasn't a better interviewer in television," he said.