Former news anchor and ASU professor Aaron Brown dies

Former Arizona State University journalist and CNN anchor Aaron Brown died Sunday at the age of 76.

His death was confirmed by his family through two of the former networks he worked for, CNN and ABC, where Brown spent over 30 years in journalism.

A cause of death was not immediately released.

Brown’s former students at ASU, many of whom went on to work in the media industry, paid tribute to him Tuesday after news of his death trickled in.

Here’s a look at Brown’s time in Arizona and his career at several television news networks.

Aaron Brown taught journalism at ASU after his broadcasting career

After Brown left CNN in 2007, he became a professor at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism based in downtown Phoenix, where he taught until 2014. according to to USA TODAY.

The school issued a statement Tuesday afternoon mourning the death of their former faculty.

“We are saddened by the passing of Aaron Brown: He was a well-known CNN anchor and was also the first Walter Cronkite Professor of Journalism at Arizona State University, where he influenced hundreds of #CronkiteNation students,” read one declaration from the school on the social platform X.

ASU did not immediately respond to the request for more information.

His career spanned four major American news networks

Brown worked through four American news television networks, including an early career in the 1970s at Seattle-based NBC and CBS stations, before heading to New York to anchor for ABC, according to USA TODAY.

Brown’s first appearance as a CNN anchor was on September 11, 2001, and his reporting earned him an Edward R. Murrow Award, according to to the network.

CNN said he anchored “NewsNight” from 2001 to 2005, when he was replaced by Anderson Cooper, but remained under contract through 2007, according to to the New York Times.

In 2008, Brown again claimed a spot on the PBS “Wide Angle” broadcast.

Arizonans react to death of famous TV stations

Many of Brown’s former students from his time at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication paid tribute to their late professor.

Among them included one of his former students and current Arizona Republic news editor Julie Mendes, who took a class with Brown in the fall of 2012.

Brown’s passion for journalism was contagious, as seen in emails provided by Mendes.

“I think it’s an extraordinary opportunity to learn how to do television journalism at a very high level. We’re looking to turn around the quality of the network, and I think if you look at the work the gang has done in this semester, you’ll see them hit the mark. Doing well will be a challenge for you and me,” Brown wrote to Mendes in an email.

MSNBC producer Lauren Peikoff, a student of Brown’s, told Arizona Republic in February 2022 about how the former broadcaster helped steer her toward a successful career in news production.

During “Turning Points in TV History,” a class taught by Brown, Peikoff shifted from an interest in print to broadcast journalism.

Robbie Sherwood, communications director for the Arizona House Democrats, wrote further X that Brown was “such a pro, and deeply respected by other journalists.”

Vaughn Hillyard, reporter for NBC News, shared one photo of him and Brown at Hillyard’s college graduation.

“Aaron was the one who pushed this Arizona kid to apply for a networking job right out of college and learn/see from people who were good at what they do and had decades of experience doing it,” Hillyard continued in the post. “Aaron and I were the last two standing in the parking lot of Gammage Auditorium the night of my college graduation from ASU. In the most Aaronic way, he told me not to message him until I moved east.”

Hillyard also shared one photo of Brown and his wife Charlotte at Hillyard’s wedding in 2023, proving they had kept in touch over the years, as Brown did with many of his former students.

“The anchor guy kind of happened. The reporter guy took a job,” Brown said in another email to Mendes. “I promise you I will be different than anyone who has ever worked with you…I may be impossible but I love this and I love having the chance to teach this and I promise you , when December comes, you’ll be amazed at what you’ve done.”

This article originally appeared on the Arizona Republic: Former ASU journalism professor and news anchor Aaron Brown dies