Pioneering News Anchor Bernard Shaw Dies

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He was the first chief anchor for Cable News Network, today known simply as CNN, when it was launched by Ted Turner on June 1, 1980. His reporting ranged from the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing in May 1989 to live coverage of the Persian Gulf War from Baghdad in early 1991.


On February 28, 2001, he retired from CNN. Now, the world is remembering Bernard Shaw, who died Wednesday of pneumonia.

According to CNN, the pneumonia was unrelated to COVID-19, Shaw’s family shared to the network. He was 82 years old.

“Bernie was a CNN original and was our Washington Anchor when we launched,” said Chris Licht, today the CNN Chairman and CEO. “He was our lead anchor for the next twenty years … Even after he left CNN, Bernie remained a close member of our CNN family providing our viewers with context about historic events as recently as last year. The condolences of all of us at CNN go out to his wife Linda and his children.”

Funeral services are private; a public memorial service planned at a later time, his family said. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Bernard Shaw Scholarship Fund at the University of Chicago. The Shaw family requests complete privacy at this time.

Former CNN CEO Tom Johnson issued a statement in which he said Shaw “exemplified excellence in his life” and will be “remembered as a fierce advocate of responsible journalism.”

While CNN in recent years has been chastised by political conservatives who derided the network as left-wing and is today moving its coverage to a more centrist position under Warner Bros. Discovery ownership, there was no such ideological lean to CNN across its first two decades. As such, Shaw attracted legions of fans for what he did best — report the news.

NBC News recognized Shaw’s accomplishments in its own coverage of his passing, noting  the CNN anchor “instantly set a standard of consummate professionalism” that earned him the trust of millions of viewers.

Shaw’s career began at CBS, where he was a political reporter across much of the 1970s. In 1977, he joined ABC, becoming a Latin America correspondent for two years. It was at CNN where he would make an indelible mark on the news landscape.

Shaw is also being remembered for his role as a moderator of the second U.S. presidential debate between Michael Dukakis, the Democratic Governor of Massachusetts, and Vice President George H.W. Bush. Shaw’s first question to Dukakis? “Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?”

He replied, “No, I don’t,” before explaining why in a response deemed unemotional by political analysts. While Dukakis’ election bid was unsuccessful, many praised Shaw for coming right out of the box with a hard-hitting question.

Shaw served in the United States Marine Corps in his early 20s, and began his broadcasting career as an anchor and reporter for the former WNUS in Chicago, an all-news radio station founded by industry legend Gordon McLendon. It debuted the format in September 1964, and was a pioneer in the format until 1968. From there, he joined Westinghouse, then the owner of WMAQ-AM, which had adopted the all-News format. He was with Westinghouse through his 1971 arrival at CBS, moving from Chicago to Washington, D.C., to serve as the White House correspondent during Richard Nixon’s first term in office.