Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Richard Hake, Beloved & Trusted WNYC Anchor, Dies At 51
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 25, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Matthew Septimus
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Apr 25, 2020
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Richard Hake, a beloved and trusted news host and reporter for WNYC since 1992, passed away on Friday. He was 51 years old.
WNYC confirmed the news in a statement sent to newsroom staff. Hake's family told the station that he died of natural causes. Update: In a statement sent out on Wednesday afternon, the City’s Medical Examiner ruled that Hake's manner of death was an accident.
"Richard worked at WNYC for nearly 30 years as a host, reporter, and producer. He was an extraordinary broadcaster and journalist who had a passion for excellence and who took great pride in serving our audience," New York Public Radio President and CEO Goli Sheikholeslami said in the statement.
Hake was a host of WNYC's Morning Edition, and his work was broadcast on nationally syndicated shows like Weekend Edition and All Things Considered.
WNYC's listeners were intimately familiar with Hake's journalism—he spoke to New Yorkers through September 11, 2001, the 2003 blackout, and Superstorm Sandy.
"He was the guy we could throw into the studio with a moment's notice to try and divine the facts of a moving situation and impart that information to our listeners. That is a remarkable, remarkable skill," said Nancy Solomon, a WNYC editor who worked with Hake on Morning Edition.
Solomon described her colleague as a "rock solid public radio journalist" who understood how to engage his audience.
"That sound that makes you feel that you are there and imagining exactly what the scene sounds like and what the characters look like—he was a master of that."
A native New Yorker, Hake graduated from Fordham University, and got his start at WNYC when he was still a student.
Prior to his career at WNYC, he worked at WFUV FM as a morning drive reporter and newscaster. His stories earned him awards from The Associated Press Broadcasters Association, The Society of Professional Journalists, and The New York Press Club, among others.
Hake was also a longtime shop steward for the union representing the workers at the station, SAG-AFTRA.
"He had a great sense of humor, he could appreciate the more absurd things in life," said WNYC senior reporter Beth Fertig, who started at the station in 1993, shortly after Hake. "When he would describe his job, he'd say, 'I talk to myself in a room with padded walls and no windows.'"
Fertig recalled co-anchoring the news with Hake during the 2003 blackout. The station's generator had failed, and they had to talk into telephone receivers by flashlight.
"He was so smooth and timely and he had the right sense of urgency but no panic in his voice," Fertig said. "He set a really high bar for professionalism and for being able to—on live radio—go with anything that's dealt to you, keep it together, and think about the listeners first and foremost."
Fertig added, "It was one of my most memorable experiences in broadcasting. It was a joy working with him."
Listen to reporter Jim O'Grady's moving obituary for Richard Hake on WNYC:
The job description Hake gave himself was modest: "I wake people up and tell them stories on the alarm clock."
Hake's mother, Joy Colombo, recalled in a phone interview that her son was actually a shy child. But he opened up around her friends with the help of a toy.
"I would say he was about 7 or 8, my friends used to come over and he had this microphone we must have bought for him for Christmas," Colombo said. "And he used to go and ask and he used to interview them and we used to laugh, we used to kid around that he’s going to be a newscaster."
You can share your memories of Hake on WNYC's Facebook page.
This story has been updated with additional reporting from Beth Fertig.
Tagged
wnyc
Richard hake
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .