‘Steadiest Man on Television’: Ex-Colleagues Mourn Death of Former CNN Anchor Who Documented 9/11 On His First Day On the Job

Former CNN anchor Aaron Brown, who covered the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on his first day on the job, died this week at the age of 76, the network reported Tuesday.

Brown was remembered for his coverage of 9/11 and other major news events as part of CNN’s team. He was the anchor of NewsNight from 2001 to 2005.

According to CNN, Brown died on Sunday. He was honored by former colleagues and others in the media on Tuesday. Praise from Los Angeles Times TV critic Howard Rosenberg was singled out by CNN as something that defined Brown’s broadcasting career.

A month after nearly 3,000 Americans were killed on live TV, Rosenburg described Brown – who watched the South Tower at the World Trade Center collapse and calmly narrated the historic event – as “the steadiest man on television.”

Rosenberg concluded that Brown “was at a terrible place at the right time.”

CNN reported on the events of the day that came to define Brown’s career:

September 11, 2001, marked Brown’s first appearance on

CNN. He hadn’t been scheduled to go on air that morning, but news was breaking. And that day and in the days that followed, he quickly became a guiding presence for millions of viewers.

Brown’s coverage of the 9/11 attacks from the roof of CNN’s Manhattan office at 5 Penn Plaza near Madison Square Garden established him as a trusted figure during one of the darkest moments in American history, said CNN’s John Vause, who also reported from New York that day. Brown reported live on the attacks for 17 hours.

His first story on the air won him the Edward R. Murrow Award. Vause said of the late anchor, “When he was live on air, he just stopped and looked at it. And paused. And he shared this moment that everybody was thinking, ‘Good Lord. There are no words.'”

Vause also compared Brown to the late, great Peter Jennings when he called him “the anchorman’s anchor.”

CNN’s Anderson Cooper said the following of Brown Tuesday afternoon: “Thoughtful, funny, and diligent, he had a truly unique talent and a beautiful way with words.”

Former CNN producer Jon Auerbach said, “He had a biting sense of humor, and in the days before people spoke of a work-life balance, Aaron knew its value. Anchoring a program at 10 p.m. can be brutal, but Aaron was able to make time for what was important to him outside

the studio, whether it be his wife and daughter or a round of golf.”

Other tributes to Brown poured in online Tuesday:

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