R.I.P.: Richard Hake, WNYC News Anchor

Richard Hake 1969-2020

WNYC news host, reporter and producer for the past 28 years, Richard Hake died on Friday at his home in Manhattan. He was 51, according to The NYTimes.

Goli Sheikholeslami, the chief executive of WNYC, confirmed the death on Saturday. A cause of death was not yet known.

“For all of us at New York Public Radio and in WNYC’s listening community, Richard was one of the first voices we heard every morning,” Ms. Sheikholeslami said, adding that he loved to say he “woke up New York.”

Hake produced and created live radio feature segments for WNYC that focused on breaking news, culture and artistic sound portraits.

His work was also featured on local and national NPR programs, including, “Morning Edition,” which he hosted, “Weekend Edition,” “All Things Considered” and “On the Media.”

Hake earned awards from The Associated Press Broadcasters Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and other organizations for his feature and documentary work, including the “Coney Island Cyclone Anniversary” and “The Perfume of the Bronx.”

Karen Frillmann, Hake’s editor and colleague at WNYC for nearly 20 years, said he was a “very local young man who brought his passions for New York to the WNYC newsroom.”

“He was unflappable as a broadcaster,” she said. “He really had an appetite for everything that New York offered.”

Ms. Frillmann said Mr. Hake could deliver breaking news as it was still coming in, noting that “he had to fill time and tap dance a little bit and say the right things and not misspeak, live on the radio, which is really a trick.”