Who had the longest tenure as moderator on "Meet The Press"?

For just over 16 years, Tim Russert was the man who asked the hard questions from the other side of the table to many a Washington D.C. politico as the host of NBC's Meet The Press.

Meet The Press is the longest running program in television history, now in its 70th year.

Russert, who died in 2008 at the age of 58, did not start out as a journalist. He received a B.A. from John Carroll University and his Juris Doctor in law from Cleveland State University in 1976.

Russert was a character. He once mentioned on MTP that he attended Woodstock wearing a Buffalo Bills jersey and a case of beer under his arm. While in law school, an official of John Carroll asked if he could book concerts for the school as he did when he attended. He was paid so he could pay for law school. The deal was struck. Russert then booked a gig headlined by an unknown singer Bruce Springsteen (he charged $2,500 per appearance).

Russert became the NBC's Washington bureau chief in 1989, then took over MTP in 1991. Under his guidance, the show adopted an in-depth interview format with high profile guests.

The Washington Post credited Russert with coining the "Red State, Blue State" descriptions used by political analysts today.

During his career, Russert received 48 honorary doctorates and won several awards for excellence in journalism, including the Paul White Award from the Radio-Television News Directors Association (2009).

He received an Emmy for the coverage of Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2005.