"Cleve Mathews, NPR's First News Director, Dies"

ROBERT SIEGEL, Host:

When he came to NPR, the newborn network was just about to launch its first program, this one.

CLEVE MATHEWS: In addition to our own staff of reporters and editors here in Washington, we will be drawing on specialists and interesting, articulate people across the country to report for us.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SIEGEL: My colleague Susan Stamberg says this about Cleve Mathews: He brought depth and focus to a small, new, ragamuffin team of reporters and producers. He had the highest standards and did much to shape and further the early, now permanent, values of National Public Radio.