CBS News Radio award-winning reporter Dave Barrett died at his Wilton, Conn., home suddenly today. He was only 63.
“Dave Barrett was a special kind of broadcaster–one who could transport you to the scene of the story in just a few words,” Craig Swagler, general manager of CBS News Radio said in a statement. “He will be dearly missed–both in this newsroom and across the country.”
Barrett could be heard daily on radio stations across the country anchoring hourly reports and the World News Roundup Late Edition, the longest-running electronic news broadcast in history.
He was CBS News Radio’s go-to reporter for outdoor events such as music and sports, and he reported from 10 Olympic Games.
Barrett is a three-time Edward R. Murrow Award winner. He won in 2011 for his report that brought to life for listeners how kids occupy their time, illustrated by the sounds of their activities.
Barrett’s most recent Murrow was for a report on the 200th anniversary of The Star-Spangled Banner in 2015, and his first Murrow Award came in 1998 for a profile on Tiger Woods.
Speaking of sports, during 1993 and 1994, Barrett reported on ESPN Radio, where he worked as a commentator for Super Bowls, the NCAA Final Four, the British Open, Wimbledon, the NBA Finals and the Kentucky Derby. His early career in radio included stints in Houston as the play-by-play announcer for the Central Hockey League’s Houston Apollos and an announcer for the Astros, the Rockets, the Houston Oilers, the WHA Houston Aeros and the University of Houston.
In 1977 he won the Associated Press award for Best Sportscast in Texas.
Barrett joined CBS News Radio in February 2001 from the Fox News Radio Network, where he was news director beginning in 1998. He spent 15 years at ABC Radio News, covering everything from political conventions and hurricanes to the Olympics. Barrett went to the Persian Gulf region twice. He was based in Bahrain during 1988’s Operation Earnest Will, where oil tankers transiting the Gulf were escorted to and from Kuwait. He also covered the allied buildup in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield in 1990.
Barrett was born in Buffalo, N.Y. He is survived by his wife, Joyce, and son, Luke.