NORWALK, Conn. (AP) – Christopher Glenn, a longtime CBS news correspondent, who anchored coverage of the space shuttle Challenger explosion and was the voice of the children’s program “In the News,” in 1970s and ’80s, died Tuesday of liver cancer less than three weeks before his induction into the Radio Hall of Fame, the network said.

Glenn, a Norwalk resident, died in Norwalk Hospital. He was 68.

The award-winning newsman retired in February after 35 years with CBS and was to be enshrined on Nov. 4 into the Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago. He garnered many national awards, the latest in 2005 was the Radio Television News Directors Edward R. Murrow award for best newcast.

His distinctive voice was familiar to those who remember the Emmy-award winning “In the News.” The 2-minute feature on one topic was broadcast every half hour during Saturday childrens programming on CBS. It debuted in September 1971 and ran for 5,000 episodes over 13 seasons.

He anchored and reported on many national stories including space shuttle missions and served as a floor reporter at national political conventions.

It was Glenn who anchored the Jan. 28 1986 launch of the doomed shuttle Challenger and delivered an anguished commentary as the spacecraft exploded shortly after lift-off.

“This flight, which was to have been such a bright chapter in the history of the manned space flight program, turning in the flash of an instant into a terrible, terrible tragedy,” he said.

He also became the anchor for the CBS “World New Roundup” in 1999 after spending 11 years in a similar capacity for “The World Tonight.”

Born in New York City, Glenn was raised in Irvington, N.Y. He received a bachelors degree in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1959.

He is survived by his wife, Dianne, two daughters and a sister.

A memorial service will be held at a later date, said CBS spokesman Kevin Tedesco.