The voice we woke up to’: Bob Edwards, longtime ‘Morning Edition’ host, dies at 76

“He was Bob Edwards of Morning Edition for 24 1/2 years, and his was the voice we woke up to,” she says.

When listeners first heard that voice, they might have imagined a figure of great authority, an avuncular newsman dressed in a pinstripe suit. But that was not Bob Edwards.

He was the consummate newsman.

Edwards eventually wrote a book about his radio friendship with Barber, the first of three he authored, including a memoir, A Voice in the Box: My Life in Radio.

Edwards’ approach helped set the tone for NPR

Edwards left NPR after the company decided to remove him as host of Morning Edition. Though his many fans protested mightily, Edwards closed out his last show on April 30, 2004. He ended his tenure just as it started, by interviewing one of his radio heroes, Charles Osgood.

Edwards went on to host his own interview show at Sirius XM Radio and continued to be heard on many public radio stations on Bob Edwards Weekend. But Margaret Low says his contribution to NPR will never be forgotten.

“He sort of set the tone and the bar for all of us,” she says. “He understood the power and the intimacy of our medium and captured the attention of millions and millions of people who are still with us today.”