Russert: One of TV news' Top 10

by Michael Tackett and Mark Silva

With the sudden passing of Tim Russert, chief of the Washington bureau for NBC News and longtime host of Meet the Press, television journalism has lost one of its all-time greats.

Russert, 58, was, in our estimation, among the Top 10 television journalists since the birth of TV news.

Here is our list, who's on yours?

EDWARD R. MURROW (1908-1965): The most legendary of all television newsmen, he crossed the bridge from radio to the dawn of television news following radio broadcasts from London during World War II. At CBS News, he reigned over a period of crusading broadcasting, exposing the exploitation of migrant workers in Harvest of Shame and the political intimidation of the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

WALTER CRONKITE (Born 1916): The longtime anchorman of the CBS Evening News (19 years in the chair) presided at a time when three broadcast networks dominated the airwaves and became the face of journalism on the floor of the presidential nominating conventions, himself carrying enough credibility to compete in any national political contest, cited in polls as "most trusted man in America.''

FRANK REYNOLDS (1923-1983): Anchor of the ABC Evening News from 1968 to 1970 and co-anchor of World News Tonight form 1978 to 1983, he initiated a 30-minute late-night program America Held Hostage, during the taking of American hostages in Iran. The show later was renamed Nightline, a fixture of serious late-night news.

DAVID BRINKLEY (1920-2003): From the mid 1950s through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated news program, the Huntley-Brinkley Report, with partner Chet Huntley. In 1970, it became the NBC Nightly News, with Brinkley, John Chancellor and Frank McGee co-anchoring. In the 1980s and 1990s, Brinkley was host of This Week with David Brinkley on Sundays.

TOM BROKAW (Born 1940): Served as NBC News achor and managing editor of the NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw until December 1, 2004. Toward the end of his tenure, the show became the most-watched cable or broadcast news program. But Brokaw also made a name for himself off-air, as author of The Greatest Generation.

DAN RATHER (born 1931): Held the anchor's chair at the CBS Evening News for 24 years, until March of 2005 and was a regular contributor to 60 Minutes. Also a fixture of the political convention floor, Rather left CBS in controversy over his flawed report about President Bush's National Guard service during the war in Vietnam. He is now anchor of a television news magazine, Dan Rather Reports, on cable's HDNet.

PETER JENNINGS (1938-2005): Served as anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 from lung cancer. He was a high-school dropout from Canada who became one of the leading television journalists in the United States. He had become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2003 - his passing marking the passing of an era in which the old broadcasting network news was dominated by Brokaw and Rather.

JIM LEHRER (Born1934): Longtime news anchor for the Public Broadcasting Service, he runs The News Hour with Jim Lehrer and has published fiction and nonfiction alike. He started the MacNeil/Lehrer Report with co-anchor Robert MacNeil in 1975 and has served as one of the most respected moderators of presidential debates.

JUDY WOODRUFF (Born 1946): Has worked across a spectrum of public, commercial and cable news, all the while elevating political coverage. She served as chief White House correspondent for NBC and moved to PBS, where she hosted Frontline for 10 years, until 1993. She was chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. At CNN, she hosted Inside Politics from 1993 to 2005. She has returned to PBS, rejoining Jim Lehrer.

TIM RUSSERT (1950-2008): Schooled as a lawyer and trained in politics on Capitol Hill, he brought both an attorney's discipline and a political operative's insight to national news reporting. He had served as host of NBC's Meet The Press, the longest-running show on television (60 years) and most popular Sunday morning news show, since 1991 and was chief of the NBC Washington bureau until his sudden death today.