Edward Joseph "Joe" Mosbrook

Joe Mosbrook, a celebrated broadcast journalist and passionate historian of Cleveland’s jazz heritage, has passed away at 91. He leaves behind a 55-year legacy of storytelling that enriched Northeast Ohio. 

In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Mosbrook was a radio news supervisor, producing and anchoring NBC Radio Network newscasts from Cleveland and New York. 

He primarily reported on politics and government but worked nearly every role in the newsroom over his 35-year tenure with NBC and WKYC. His colleagues recognize him as one of the most prolific reporters in Cleveland TV history.

He reported on defining moments including the assassination of Robert Kennedy, which he covered live. He covered elections and administrations of Cleveland Mayors Carl Stokes, Ralph Perk, Dennis Kucinich and George Voinovich. He did stories on landmark cases like the desegregation of Cleveland Public Schools, the Sam Sheppard murder trial, the Kirtland cult killings and the Kent State shootings. His reporting and interview with a juror for WKYC led to the overturning of the Kent State civil verdict.

Mosbrook interviewed the U.S. presidents between the Eisenhower and Clinton Administrations. His decade-long investigation into the Kennedy assassination helped Congress overturn the Warren Commission to include the possibility of an unidentified second shooter in Dallas. 

“Joe was all business. A solid reporter. Every story was ‘soup to nuts,’” former reporter Paul Orlousky said of his friend while recalling Mosbrook’s coverage of the fatal Thunderbirds accident at the Cleveland Air Show in 1981. 

As a part-time employee for WKYC, he produced “Look Back” features and served as Channel 3’s voice-over announcer. “Virtually every story of consequence, he had a piece of in some way,” his former WKYC colleague Tom Beres said. 

A powerful testament to his dedication to journalism came in 1981, when he reported on his own story—covering the crash of “Newshawk 3” from the wreckage itself after his helicopter went down in Ashtabula County. 

“The story comes first,” Orlousky said with a chuckle while recounting the story. 

Mosbrook’s dedication extended beyond reporting. He was also deeply involved in the broadcasters' union, serving multiple terms as its president.

Beres considered him a mentor and shared that one of Mosbrook’s proudest accomplishments was that he “never missed slot,” an industry-specific phrase about deadlines and a lofty goal to anyone in the business.

Mosbrook also dedicated himself to documenting Cleveland’s jazz scene, creating nearly 1,700 broadcasts on WCPN that captivated weekly audiences with tales of rediscovered histories and rich musical narratives.

Mosbrook’s love for jazz began in college, where he hosted early radio shows focused on the music that would shape his life’s work. Despite his tenured and respected television career, his devotion to Cleveland’s jazz scene became the defining element of his legacy.

At the encouragement of Tri-C JazzFest, Mosbrook authored two volumes of Cleveland Jazz History, preserving the city’s musical roots. His early writings for the Northeast Ohio Jazz Society were reimagined for radio. 

“His fans were passionate and dedicated,” Beres said. 

Mosbrook’s voice, in every sense, continues to echo in Cleveland’s jazz and journalism landscapes. His legacy lives on in every story he told and every piece of history he preserved for future generations.

Mosbrook is survived by his four children, Nancy Mosbrook Gecking, Joe Mosbrook, Charlie Mosbrook and Susan Mosbrook; as well as three grandchildren, Morgan Gecking Hemler, Sarah Prendergast and Jacob Stiles.