The expression that bad news comes in threes always seems to ring true. This week, journalism has lost some of the true giants of the industry.
Jim McKay, at age 86, died on Saturday. McKay was a legendary journalist for ABC Sports, covering 12 Olympics, and anchoring coverage of the massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games. McKay died on the same day as The Belmont Stakes, an event he covered for many years.
Charlie Jones, at age 77, died on Thursday. Jones was the play-by-play announcer for AFL and NFL telecasts on NBC from 1965 to 1997. Jones was also a part of NBC Olympics coverage. In his NBC career, Jones “covered 28 different sports … [and] more than 25 college football bowl games.” As Fang’s Bites noted, Jones had his own blog, and wrote about Jim McKay’s death earlier this week.
Tim Russert, age 58, died earlier today. Russert was the moderator and managing editor of Meet the Press on NBC, the leading political Sunday morning talk show. Russert was one of the most respected journalists in the country, and his death leaves a major void during a particularly important presidential election.
