Aaron Brown, a veteran television news anchor beloved for his profound reporting during the September 11, 2001, attacks, has died at the age of 76. His family confirmed that Brown passed away on a Sunday, as highlighted in reports from AP News.

Initially starting his television career in Seattle, Brown later became a founding anchor for ABC’s “World News Now” and joined CNN shortly before his pivotal reporting during the 9/11 attacks. On that fateful day, Brown was tasked with anchoring from a rooftop in Manhattan, responding to the chaos unfolding below him. At the moment when the second World Trade Center tower fell, he poignantly articulated the collective shock felt by millions, stating, “Good lord, there are no words.” His coverage earned him the esteemed Edward R. Murrow Award, and he garnered three Emmy Awards over his career, as noted by HuffPost.

Brown's distinctive newscast, “NewsNight,” became a platform for his insightful commentary amid the rapidly changing landscape of cable news. However, he expressed discomfort with the emphasis on entertainment within the industry, stating in 2008, “I didn’t think the viewers were behind me when we did dumb television.” Despite his departure from CNN in 2005, when his time slot went to future star Anderson Cooper, Brown continued to contribute to television, notably with PBS through “Wide Angle.”

Throughout his career, Brown not only reported on major events such as the Washington, D.C. sniper attacks and the loss of the space shuttle Columbia but also influenced CNN’s approach to evening news. After his tenure, he became the first Walter Cronkite professor of journalism at Arizona State University, dedicating his later years to educating aspiring journalists.

Aaron Brown’s legacy as a thoughtful and serious journalist remains influential, serving as a reminder of the profound role journalism plays during times of national crisis. He is survived by his wife, Charlotte Raynor, and their daughter, Gabby.

For further information, visit the original articles by AP News and HuffPost.