Aaron Brown, CNN Anchor Who Covered 9/11 Attacks, Dies at 76

Aaron Brown, a former CNN anchor, has passed away. He was 76 years old.

The New York Times reports that Brown, who was known for his CNN live coverage of Sept. 11, 2001, died on Sunday in Washington D.C. His family confirmed his passing but didn’t share his cause of death.

CNN hired Brown in June 2001 and he was still in training when Sept. 11 occurred. He wasn’t scheduled to appear on air for a few weeks but was asked to cover the attacks from the roof of CNN’s Manhattan headquarters in a live broadcast. Brown was given the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for his reporting.

His broadcast career began in radio, with him later moving to television in Seattle, where he stayed for 15 years. Brown was then hired by ABC News in 1991, starting the overnight program, World News Now. From 2001 to 2005, he was the host of CNN's NewsNight and The Whip, though Brown was eventually replaced by Anderson Cooper.

Brown saw his television comeback in 2008 as the host of PBS’ Wide Angle, and was appointed the inaugural Walter Cronkite Professor of Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication until 2014.

“Aaron got to do the work that he loved—and he felt lucky to do that work as part of a community of people who were dedicated to good journalism and who became good friends,” Brown’s wife, Charlotte Raynor, said in a statement.

He was also survived by his daughter, Gabby, and two grandchildren.