Bob Edwards, baritone-voiced journalist who launched NPR’s ‘Morning Edition,’ dies at 76

Bob Edwards, the longtime “Morning Edition” anchor whose soothing voice and friendly but incisive questions guided listeners through the early broadcast for nearly 25 years, has died. Edwards also helped launch NPR’s morning news magazine “Morning Edition” in 1979 — a pilot program that he said was a disaster in its infancy and that he was only supposed to host for the first 30 days. It was exciting to be a part of something new, to have the challenge of building something up to the level of ‘All Things Considered.’” That would become “a career-defining moment” for Edwards, NPR President and Chief Executive John Lansing said in a Monday statement. “He continued to be the voice that NPR listeners started their day with for another 24 and a half years as host of ‘Morning Edition.’” “Bob Edwards understood the intimate and distinctly personal connection with audiences that distinguishes audio journalism from other mediums, and for decades he was a trusted voice in the lives of millions of public radio listeners.