NBC News is responding to today's Page Six item about correspondent Luke Russert (more than the one line response included in the NYPost piece.)

The Post talked to an "insider" who says Russert has "been MIA for a while."

"He was hired last year to be the youth correspondent -- he got a great contract and was supposed to cover youth issues, blog and bring in young viewers. It's like, 'Well, that's what you get for nepotism,'" says the insider. "He hasn't even updated his blog which he's paid a lot to do and just got on Twitter. Some youth correspondent!"

NBC News spokesperson Allison Gollust responds, telling TVNewser, "Luke Russert is, and will continue to be, a valued member of the NBC News correspondent team. Just last week, he appeared all day on MSNBC with hourly updates for a story he was covering. Meanwhile, he is working on long-lead pieces for Dateline and the Today show, was on Nightly News a couple weeks ago, and has recently been added to our talented team covering Capitol Hill."

Page Six writes, "Russert's last blog, 'The Courage To Go Online' was posted Dec. 4, 2008 -- and he started his Twitter account on Feb. 18. His last tweet, 'Been on the Road,' was on March 31."

NBC's Gollust says, "He has never been asked to blog or Twitter," adding, "It's unfortunate that a gossip column would choose to attack a hard working, talented young man who is getting a great start as a broadcast journalist."