Bob Edwards Trivia | 40 facts about the broadcast journalist

Bob Edwards was an American broadcast journalist who has hosted National Public Radio’s flagship news programs.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his life and career.

1. His full name is Robert Alan Edwards
2. He was born May 16, 1947
3. He died February 10, 2024
4. He was an American broadcast journalist
5. Bob Edwards was a Peabody Award-winning member of the National Radio Hall of Fame
6. He hosted both of National Public Radio’s flagship news programs, the afternoon All Things Considered, and Morning Edition
7. There he was the first and longest serving host in the latter program’s history
8. Starting in 2004, Edwards hosted The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius XM Radio and Bob Edwards Weekend distributed by Public Radio International to more than 150 public radio stations
9. Those programs ended in September 2015
10. Edwards was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to a homemaking mother and an accountant father
11. He became interested in radio, and pursuing a radio career, from a young age
12. Edwards was a graduate of St. Xavier High School (Louisville) in 1965
13. And the University of Louisville in 1969
14. He also earned an M.A. in communication from American University in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1972
15. Edwards began his radio career in 1968 at a small radio station in New Albany, Indiana, a town located across the Ohio River from Louisville
16. Afterwards, Edwards served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War
17. Producing and anchoring television and radio news programs for the American Forces Korea Network from Seoul
18. Following his army service, he went on to anchor news for WTOP / 1500, a CBS affiliate, in Washington, D.C.
19. In 1972, at age 25, Edwards anchored national newscasts for the Mutual Broadcasting System
20. Edwards joined NPR in 1974 as a newscaster
21. Before hosting Morning Edition, Edwards was co-host of All Things Considered
22. Edwards was married three times
23. His marriages to Joan Murphy and Sharon Kelly ended in divorce
24. He had two daughters, Eleanor and Susannah, with Sharon Kelly
25. He married NPR news anchor Windsor Johnston in 2011, whom he remained with until his death
26. Bob Edwards died on February 10, 2024, at the age of 76, in Arlington, Virginia
27. His cause of death was reported to be “metastatic bladder cancer and a heart ailment”
28. In 1999, Edwards won a Peabody Award
29. In 2003, Edwards was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame
30. In November 2004, Edwards was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame
31. In 2009, he donated his papers and his library to American University in Washington, DC.
32. He held honorary degrees from the University of Louisville, Spalding University, Bellarmine University, Willamette University, Grinnell College, DePaul University, the University of St. Francis, and Albertson College (now the College of Idaho)
33. Edwards wrote three books
34. His first book, Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship
35. It was based on his weekly interviews with Red Barber
36. And was released in 1993, a year after Barber’s death
37. During his final months at NPR, Edwards wrote his second book, Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism, which was published in May 2004
38. The book, a short biography of Edward R. Murrow, brought some public attention to history’s most noted broadcast journalist
39. This was prior to the release of the 2004 film Good Night and Good Luck
40. His memoir, A Voice in the Box, was published in September 2011