Former CNN anchor Aaron Brown, who helped viewers through the Sept. 11 attacks, has died

Aaron Brown, a veteran television news anchor whose steady hand helped guide CNN viewers through the unfolding tragedy of the September 11, 2001, attacks, has died.

CNN reported, citing a statement from Brown’s family, that he died on Sunday. A cause of death was not given. He was 76.

Brown began his career in Minneapolis as a radio talk show host. His TV career began in Seattle before he was named founder of ABC’s “World News Now.” He also hosted “ABC’s World News Tonight Saturday” and was a reporter for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “Nightline” and other ABC news programs.

But it was at CNN where he made a lasting impression – even before he was on the air.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Brown began his career at the network earlier than expected, anchoring from a Manhattan rooftop as the attacks occurred. When the second tower fell that morning, Brown reacted with the horror that most viewers undoubtedly felt.

“Good sir,” he said. “There are no words.”

His reporting on the attacks earned Brown the Edward R. Murrow Award. He also won three Emmy awards during his career, among other accolades.

Brown’s quirky, cerebral 10 p.m. CNN newscast “NewsNight” had a strong following with fans who enjoyed his commentary and “The Whip,” a short review of top international stories, but he lost ratings to Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.

Brown left CNN during a shakeup in November 2005, when his time slot went to rising star Anderson Cooper.

Reflecting on this time at CNN, Brown said he was faced with the challenge of practicing serious journalism while also being in a “very ratings-driven environment.”

“I don’t want to get into the business of indicting cable TV, but some of what happened was just television and not journalism,” he told The Associated Press in 2008.

“I didn’t practice the ‘high church’ of journalism all the time, but I think there was a sense that I was uncomfortable in that other gossip world, and I think the viewers knew that and I couldn’t pull it off . Brown said in that 2008 interview.

After leaving CNN, Brown taught for many years at Arizona State University as the first Walter Cronkite professor of journalism. In 2008, he returned to TV on PBS’s “Wide Angle,” a weekly public affairs show.

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

She noted that Brown worked varying shifts during his career, but “he always found a way to share both ordinary and extraordinary times with our daughter Gabby and me.”

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Salter reported from O’Fallon, Missouri. Rico reported from Atlanta.