3 months ago
Each Sunday morning Tim Russert signed off his broadcast with the words, "If it's Sunday, it's 'Meet the Press.'"
So it's only fitting that a new exhibit honoring the late NBC journalist and Buffalo native would be named just that.
The exhibit, which opens to the public today at the Newseum in Washington D.C., is a recreation of Russert's office as it looked on June 13, 2008, the day he died of a heart attack while preparing for his next show.
Daybreak's Heather Ly traveled to D.C. earlier this week to get a first look at the exhibit.
Russert moderated "Meet the Press" for nearly 17 years and was known for his hard-hitting interview style, but those who knew him best say he'll forever be remembered as a down-to-earth family man.
During his broadcasts, Russert often gave shout-outs to his beloved Buffalo Bills, and his love for his hometown was evident in his office.
Among the 300 books on his shelves were ones about Buffalo: Buffalo Pottery, a history of the Rockpile, and a Buffalo Spree magazine.
Prominently displayed in the exhibit, just like in his real office, are a Buffalo Bills pennant and a cardboard cutout from the students at Holy Family, where Russert attended school as a child.
On his desk are draft scripts, various publications he read each week while preparing for his show, and even a photocopy of a handwritten note Russert gave to David Gregory's newborn son Max.
The note, written on a small NBC notepad, reads in part, "Welcome to the world...your Meet the Press internship awaits."
The exhibit, which is more than a year in the making, was recreated using pictures taken in the days after Russert's death and with help from his family and former colleagues.
