R.I.P.: NPR Host Robert Conley

Robert Conley

Robert Conley, the first host of NPR's All Things Considered, died Saturday at his home in Virginia.

He was 85, according to wpr.org.

It was Conley who on May 3, 1971, set the tone for NPR's flagship newsmagazine. As one of the show's current hosts Robert Siegel explains, Conley established that the program would be different.

NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg, who was a producer in 1971, said "Bob was a seasoned newsman with a deep-barreled voice that was made for radio. But he didn't much like some of radio's requirements — like working within the program's time constraints. So he ad-libbed his introductions to reporters' pieces, rather than reading from a pre-timed script.”

Conley came to NPR after stints at NBC News and The New York Times, where he served as a correspondent and bureau chief in places including London, Rome, the Middle East and Africa.