Aaron Brown (journalist)

Career

Aaron Brown was born on November 10, 1948, in Minneapolis, into a Jewish household. He was the middle child of five, with a homemaker mother named Rose and a father, Morton, who dealt in scrap metal. In 1966, he left the University of Minnesota, where he had been studying political science, and enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard reserves. His career in broadcasting began as a radio talk show host in Minneapolis, and he later did the same in Los Angeles.

Before making it to the national networks, Brown became a familiar face in Seattle, spending over 15 years at local television stations. He started at KING-TV, the NBC affiliate, in 1976 as an assignment editor, quickly moving into reporting and eventually anchoring. In 1986, he switched to KIRO-TV, the CBS affiliate, where he anchored the evening news until December 1991.

ABC

Brown then moved to New York City to become the founding co-anchor, alongside Lisa McRee, of the late-night program World News Now. He also reported for ABC’s news division. He left that show in July 1993 and soon started reporting for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, as well as Nightline and other ABC programs. He later served as a substitute anchor for Jennings and became the permanent anchor of World News Tonight Saturday and Good Morning America Sunday.

CNN

Brown joined CNN on July 1, 2001, but his first on-air appearance came on September 11, 2001. He earned international acclaim and the Edward R. Murrow Award for his coverage of the attacks, reporting from CNN’s rooftop in Manhattan, the World Trade Center site, and the surrounding areas. During the collapse of the South Tower, Brown was listening to a report from the Pentagon, which had also been attacked.

The tower began to fall while he was off-camera, forcing him to cut off the reporter to describe what he was seeing. He noted another massive explosion and said he could no longer see the building, unaware that it had completely fallen. As the second tower came down live, Brown went silent for a moment, then quietly said, "...good Lord...there are no words..." before resuming his reporting after a few seconds.

Did You Know?

• In 2006, Brown assumed the John J. Rhodes Chair in Public Policy and American Institutions at Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University.
• He taught a course called 'Turning Points in Television News History' at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at ASU from 2007 to 2014.
• While working in Seattle in 1980, Brown met fellow newscaster Charlotte Raynor; they wed in 1982 and had one daughter, Gabby (b. 1988).