News Anchor Aaron Brown Dies at 76

[Mark Jeffries]

After 15 years in Seattle, Mr. Brown was one of the founders of the quirky overnight ABC newscast "World News Now" (sometimes mentioned by the late Tom Heald in this forum) and left for CNN, where, weeks before he was supposed to go on the air, he was put on the air the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, reporting on the attacks at the World Trade Center from the roof of CNN's then-NY base on Columbus Circle with great aplomb--he was rewarded by being given the prime time "NewsNight," where he drew an audience with his just-the-facts approach with a side of drollness--he left CNN when Greta Van Susteren on Fox News started beating him in the ratings and turned to teaching at the University of Arizona--on Sunday at his home in Washington:

 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/31/business/media/aaron-brown-dead-911.html?unlocked_article_code=1.l04.qQPH.EjrhJACxpmEg&smid=url-share

It can be said that Mr. Brown was the last of the straightforward news anchors on cable news before Fox News screwed everything up (and it was 9/11 that put them on the map). He got out while the getting was good.

[M-D November]

*raises his metaphorical World News Now mug in salute*

[PGage]

I was also a big fan. As I recall he had some of the Cronkite Passion for the space program. However I do seem to recall some sort of semi scandal or controversy near the end of his CNN tenure- was it him not showing up for an assignment because, he said, he could not find a suit?

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[Kevin M.]

I confess I have a natural dislike of news media and I have for a long time, but a lot of that dislike was cemented during 9/11 when I went to them for information, but they instead just kept showing the planes hitting the towers and the towers collapsing and the Pentagon on fire. I don’t recall Brown — or anyone at CNN — rising above the gross sensationalism. Maybe I’m mistaken. But someone would have to show me clips of him at the time actually providing information about Al Queda or Bin Laden or the tick-tock of what Bush and Cheney were actually doing. 

The only TV journalist at the time who attempted (failed but attempted) to rise above it was Peter Jennings, and the attempt literally killed him. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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