STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
This program is a collaboration. NPR mixes world news with stories from your local station. And the local voice of MORNING EDITION in New York City was Richard Hake of WNYC.
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RICHARD HAKE: It's Friday, May 3, and this is MORNING EDITION on WNYC.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Richard Hake has died at the age of 51. Millions knew his voice.
INSKEEP: Yeah. Years ago when I worked at the Fordham University radio station, Richard was on the student staff. And his talent was obvious even then.
MARTIN: At WNYC, he was among those who carried the city through 9/11 and the Great Recession. Beth Fertig worked with him for decades.
BETH FERTIG, BYLINE: If you listen to Richard on the air, as professional and serious as he could be with the news, he could also just adjust his tone for whatever the situation was. He was absolutely brilliant at that.
MARTIN: His tone did change for a story about a roller coaster.
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HAKE: OK, here we are on the world-famous Cyclone built in 1927. It's now celebrating its 70th birthday. And here we go. We're at the big drop - 85 feet. Here we go.
(SCREAMING)
MARTIN: When I worked briefly at WNYC as a graduate student, Richard always made me feel like I belonged. Our friend Ailsa Chang of All Things Considered remembers the same quality.
AILSA CHANG, BYLINE: I was so nervous, but I remember I walked into that studio, and Richard immediately had this way of making you feel like he would catch you if you fell, that he would make you sound good, that it was his job to make sure that you would shine in. And it's a special person who can convey that across a microphone.
INSKEEP: Richard Hake of WNYC died on Friday at home of natural causes. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
