Former KING, KIRO, CNN anchor Aaron Brown dies

Aaron Brown, a former CNN and Seattle anchor who became known for his coverage of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, died Sunday, CNN and other media outlets reported Monday night. He was 76.

Brown, who began his career in Minneapolis as a radio talk show host, was a prominent figure in Seattle TV news before moving to ABC and eventually to CNN to report on national news.

He worked for KING 5 starting in 1976 as an assistant night assignment editor, eventually becoming a reporter and an 11 p.m. anchor. Brown moved to KIRO 7 in 1986, anchoring an 11 p.m. newscast there.

Brown left KIRO in 1991 to host a national overnight news broadcast for ABC. He joined CNN in 2001, where he hosted “Newsnight” until 2005.

Before his show even launched, Brown became known for his coverage of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks from the rooftop of CNN’s Manhattan building.

“That is about as frightening a scene as you will ever see,” Brown said as the second World Trade Center tower fell.

His coverage of the attacks earned Brown the Edward R. Murrow Award. He also won three Emmy awards during his career, along with other honors.

Years later, in an interview with CNN’s Brian Stelter, Brown reflected on reporting the attacks live.

“I felt, in that moment, profoundly stupid,” Brown told Stelter about the fall of the towers. “A million things had been running through my mind about what might happen … and it just never occurred to me that they would come down, and it’s the only time I thought, ‘Maybe you just don’t have what it takes to do a story like this.'”

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

Looking back on his time at CNN, Brown said he was confronted by the challenge of doing serious journalism while also being in a “very ratings-driven environment.”

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

“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.

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

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

Materials from The Seattle Times archives were used in this report.