Luke Russert Leaving NBC News

By Chris Ariens 

Luke Russert, who joined NBC News just before the 2008 political conventions, won’t be around to cover the 2016 conventions.

His last day at NBC News is this Friday. “It has been a privilege and an honor for me to have worked for NBC News for the last eight years,” Russert wrote in a note, obtained by TVNewser. “NBC News is family and while it’s hard to leave, it’s the right decision for me at this time.”

Russert joined NBC News just out of Boston College, and only a few weeks after the death of his father, Tim Russert, who was NBC News Washington bureau chief and Meet the Press moderator.

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“It’s fair to say my broadcast career began in an unusual way after college graduation and the death of my father. As a result, I threw myself into the work and never took the time to reflect, to travel and to experience many things that would have given me a clearer sense of what my future should be,” Russert writes. “Now at 30, I look forward to taking some time away from political reporting and focusing my efforts on other endeavors that I’ve long wanted to pursue.”

D.C. bureau chief Ken Strickland called Russert “our dogged Capitol Hill correspondent: challenging members of Congress, cultivating sources, explaining procedures and providing valuable analysis… He will always be part of our Peacock family.”

“My colleagues at NBC not only helped me to grow as a journalist but also as a person,” Russert writes. “They’re the best. NBC News has all my gratitude and will continue to excel during this election season. Of course, the viewers should also know how much I have appreciated their confidence in me. Thank you.”

The Russert family in the Vatican Library in June 2008. (Courtesy: Russert family/NBC News)

The Russert family in the Vatican Library in June 2008. (Courtesy: Russert family/NBC News)

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