The political and media world lost a legend on Friday after venerable newsman Tim Russert died at the age of 58.

According to NBC’s Tom Brokaw, Russert collapsed and died while at work at the NBC bureau in Washington, D.C. Russert had just returned from a trip to Italy with his wife and son. He suffered a fatal heart attack, The New York Times reported on its Web site. 

“This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice. He’ll be missed as he was loved -- greatly,” Brokaw reported on television Friday afternoon.

Russert had been recording a voiceover for this week's Meet the Press broadcast when he collapsed, NBC said. 

Known for his tough questioning, Russert stood at the top of the political journalism world and was widely respected. He was named to Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world earlier this year. 

Russert served as the moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press since 1991 and had been with NBC News for the better part of two decades. He also served as senior vice president at MSNBC and Washington bureau chief.

Russert is survived by his wife Maureen Orth, a writer at Vanity Fair magazine who he met at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, and his son Luke, who recently graduated from Boston College. The couple lived in Washington, D.C.

In addition to his work with NBC, Russert also was a best-selling author, publishing Big Russ and Me in 2004 and Wisdom of Our Fathers in 2006.

Politicians from both sides of the aisle expressed sympathy and admiration for Russert in the hours after his death on Friday. 

"Those of us who knew and worked with Tim, his many friends, and the millions of Americans who loyally followed his career on the air will all miss him," President Bush said in a statement. "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." 

Visits to his weekly  Meet the Press show, which was in its 60th year on air, were considered a must for movers and shakers in Washington. Russert was never shy to ask politicians the tough questions on his show, which MSNBC said was the most watched interview program and the longest-running program in the history of television. 

"Our job really is that of a watchdog and trying to hold our government accountable to its people," Russert said in a 2006 interview with American Profile magazine. 

"It’s easy for government officials to develop a sense of entitlement, and the one thing you learn in Buffalo growing up is that you are never, ever entitled. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t say to my son, ‘You are always, always loved, but you are never, never entitled.’"

Russert was born in Buffalo, N.Y. on May 7, 1950. He graduated from John Carroll University and then with honors from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

“Tim loved his family, his faith, his country and politics. He loved the Buffalo Bills, the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals," Brokaw said. 

Journalists joined politicians in expressing their condolences and appreciation for Russert. 

"At a time when quality journalism is in increasingly short supply, Tim Russert was a leader for what is best in American journalism. He was tough but fair, pulled no punches, played no favorites," said Dan Rather, former CBS News anchor. "As an interviewer, he had few, if any, peers."

His death comes after covering the grueling primary season, including one of the longest and most watched Democratic nomination contests ever. Russert was a frequent guest on MSNBC and NBC Nightly News during the season and also moderated debates between the candidates. 

"He was just a terrific guy. I was proud to call him a friend, and in the coming days, we will pay tribute to a life whose contributions to us all will long endure," Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said in a statement. 

"There wasn't a better interviewer in TV, not a more thoughtful analyst of our politics and he was also one of the finest men I knew... And I hope that even though Tim is irreplaceable, that the standard that he set in his professional life and his family life are standards that we all carry with us in our own lives," Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said to reporters. 

Russert was one of the most authoritative political reporters in the media. He became one of the first political pundits to say the 2008 Democratic race for president was over, declaring in May: “We now know who the Democratic nominee is going to be and no one is going to dispute that.” That statement came a full month before Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, formally suspended her campaign. 

"Tim was a warm and gracious family man with a great zest for life and an unsurpassed passion for his work. His rise from working-class roots to become a well-respected leader in political journalism is an inspiration to many," Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D, Az.., said in a statement. "Tim asked the tough questions the right way and was the best in the business at keeping his interview subjects honest. My thoughts are with his family."

Russert won countless awards for political reporting, including an Emmy for his coverage of President Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2005. 

Prior to his work in journalism, Russert served as a staffer for former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., MSNBC said. He also worked for Mario Cuomo's campaign for governor of New York in 1982, his bio said.