Robert Trout; News Broadcaster Pioneered Anchorman Role

Legendary broadcaster Robert Trout, who as one of “Murrow’s boys” at CBS radio in the 1930s and ‘40s helped create the role of anchorman, died Tuesday at 91.

Trout, who died of congestive heart failure at Lenox Hill Hospital, was known for his crisp baritone, his stamina and his agility at ad-libbing.

Among the events he covered during his seven-decade career were John Philip Sousa’s last public performance, campaign and presidential speeches by Franklin D. Roosevelt and the repeal of Prohibition. He was the first broadcaster to use the term “fireside chat” for Roosevelt’s radio addresses to the nation.

Trout began his career in 1931 as a news announcer for Virginia’s independent station WJSV, which CBS bought the next year. He became one of “Murrow’s boys,” the crack team of reporters led by the network’s chief European correspondent, Edward R. Murrow.

On March 13, 1938, Trout went on the air to anchor CBS’ half-hour “World News Roundup,” two days after the German army marched into Austria, a key event in the buildup to World War II. It was the first live radio newscast combining reports from distant world capitals, and many broadcasters credit Trout with creating the role of anchorman.

“As I spoke those [introductory] words, I crossed my fingers,” Trout said on a 60th anniversary program on National Public Radio.

Trout spent part of the war years in London, working with Murrow on war coverage and presenting a program called “Trans-Atlantic Call,” which featured talks with ordinary people.

Back in the United States, he was the announcer who told CBS listeners about the D-day invasion in June 1944, at one point staying on the air seven hours and 18 minutes straight.

Trout, who worked mostly for CBS, with brief stints at NBC and ABC, won a Peabody Award for distinguished and meritorious public service in 1980.

He officially retired in 1996 but continued to work as a commentator for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”