Evan Haning, whose 50-year radio career included almost a decade as an anchor and reporter at WTOP, has died at the age of 74 after a long battle with cancer.
“He loved working in radio,” said Haning’s daughter Amber. “WTOP was his favorite job he ever had — he talked about it all the time.”
Haning’s career began well before his stint as a news anchor and reporter at WTOP, from the early 2000s through 2011, and showed his flexibility as a broadcaster.
Born in 1950 in Sydney, Iowa, Haning’s radio career began in 1970, shortly after graduating from Simi Valley High School, in California.
Haning was in Los Angeles for the Boss Radio boom. In 1973, Haning joined KRLA Radio as a disc jockey.
“He came to Washington when he joined WJOK in 1983,” his daughter said. Long before Comedy Central, WJOK was the first all-comedy radio format in the country.
By the mid-1980s, Haning became the production director at WWRC, the talk radio station featuring hosts like Joel A. Spivak, Bob Kwesell, and the morning duo of Bruce Alan and Ed Walker.
Alan, an anchor fixture at WTOP from 1990 through 2022, was saddened to hear of Haning’s passing.
“What a wonderful person.” Alan remembered working with Haning in the WWRC production studio, recording daily promotional announcements: “When he recorded us for spots, it was always more fun than work.”
For the past 30 years, Mark Davis has been a leading talk show host in Dallas, and admired Haning on several levels: “The voice — those incredible pipes,” Davis said.
“But the memory that sticks with me most is not something that came out of his production studio, but rather the sound of his voice when we were having normal discussions during those great early 90s days in the World Building on Georgia Avenue.”
On a personal note, Evan hired me as a board operator in the late 1980s, with the task of playing commercials, turning microphones off and on, and playing the musical jingles associated with the station’s sounds. At times, I would be Evan’s board operator while he hosted Tradio — a weekly show in which listeners discussed and offered household items for trade.
WTOP and beyond, on mic and off
When Haning joined Washington’s all news radio station in the early 2000s, he quickly made the transition from a talk station to the news format.
“Evan was the consummate radio guy,” said then-news director Michelle Komes-Dolge. “He was so smart, well-read on every topic, quick on his feet, and with a soothing voice that earned the listener’s respect.”
As a general assignment reporter, Haning covered the news of the day in the field. In addition, he anchored newscasts in the studio.
“He was so thoughtful about his reporting, making sure he hit all the nuances, so his audience understood the story,” Dolge said. “And yet, personally, just the sweetest and most thoughtful guy ever.”
In 2012, Dolge hired Haning to be an afternoon anchor at CBS’s WNEW-FM, when the station launched. He was reunited at WNEW with former WTOP anchor Nathan Hager.
“I think about Evan all the time, when the books he passed along stare at me from the shelf,” said Hager. “I’ll miss talking to Evan about books, and hearing his memories of the Boss Radio glory days in Los Angeles.”
WTOP anchor Sarah Jacobs met and worked with Haning at WNEW.
“Many on our staff were only two or three steps up the career ladder after college, and Evan gave off a Kindly Dad vibe that brought an emotional warmth to our newsroom, perhaps easing some jitters of these young colleagues who had not yet been tried by the fire of breaking news.”
“He was a font of information who could discuss everything from antique radios to hummingbirds and cybersecurity, and he was always keen to learn something new or gain a new perspective,” said Jacobs.
Former WNEW anchor Cheryl Simone called Haning “a titan among men — a friend who was always there to talk to, to share thoughts and theories on just about anything. Barely a conversation went by without a mention of (journalist and essayist) H.L. Mencken — without a doubt, his favorite.”
From 2015 through 2018, Haning hosted the “First Light” news program, syndicated by Westwood One. “Evan was always one of my favorite people to work with,” said Tom Delach, who had worked with Haning at WWRC and Westwood One. “He was always reading something — I never saw him without a book in his hand or within reach.”
“He was a friend in every sense,” said Hager. “I’m going to pull down that copy of Gore Vidal essays, dig up a Gary Owens aircheck, and think of Evan today.”
Haning is survived by his wife Melissa, daughter Amber, son Garrison, and two grandchildren, Matilda and Seneca.
A memorial service will be held on December 2, at St. Rose of Lima Church, in Gaithersburg, at 11 a.m., according to his family.
Update, 11/18/2024: This story has been updated to include details of Haning’s memorial service.
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