Veteran CNN Lead News Anchor, Bernard Shaw, dies at 82

Bernard Shaw was an American journalist and lead news anchor for CNN from 1980 until his retirement in March 2001.

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American journalist and lead news anchor Bernard Shaw dies at 82

Bernard Shaw, the first chief anchor for CNN who helped lead breaking news coverage for more than 20 years, has died. Shaw died Wednesday of pneumonia unconnected to Covid-19, his family stated in a statement to the network. He was 82. From CNN’s inauguration on June 1, 1980, Shaw conveyed to viewers breaking news in a friendly voice and matter-of-fact approach, helping the upstart 24-hour news network establish stature against its broadcast rivals.

That was clear when he led coverage of the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981, a breaking news event that established CNN as a trusted outlet to turn to in the middle of national moments of crisis. According to the network, funeral services would be confined to family and invited visitors, with plans for a public memorial at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be sent to the Bernard Shaw Scholarship Fund at the University of Chicago.

Bernard Shaw Age, Family, Early Life

Bernard Shaw was born on May 22, 1940(82 years old) in Chicago, Illinois, the U.S. He holds an American nationality and belongs to the black ethnic group. His Zodiac sign is Gemini.

bernard shaw family

There is currently no verified information about Bernard Shaw’s parents yet.

Bernard Shaw Wife, What about his Children?

Bernard Shaw was married to Linda Allston from March 30, 1974, until his death. They have two children: Amar Edgar and Anil Louise.

Bernard Shaw Career, What was his profession?

Shaw began his broadcasting career as an anchor and reporter for WNUS in Chicago in 1964. He then worked as a reporter for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in Chicago, transferring later to Washington as the White House correspondent. He worked as a correspondent in the Washington Bureau of CBS News from 1971 to 1977. In 1977, he moved to ABC News as a Latin American correspondent and bureau chief before becoming the Capitol Hill Senior Correspondent.

Shaw left ABC in 1980 to move to CNN as co-anchor of its PrimeNews broadcast, anchoring from Washington, D.C. Shaw’s coverage of the 1981 assassination attempt on U.S. President Ronald Reagan (with Shaw joined by former CBS News correspondent Daniel Schorr, one of the first on-air personalities hired by the fledgling cable channel) is credited as helping to establish CNN as a credible and reliable broadcast news source at an early point in the network’s history. Shaw was widely remembered for the question he posed to Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Michael Dukakis at his second Presidential debate with George H. W. Bush during the 1988 election, which Shaw was moderating.

Death Penalty

Knowing that Dukakis opposed the death penalty, Shaw asked him if he would favor an irrevocable death penalty for a man who hypothetically r*ped and murdered Dukakis’s wife. Dukakis stated that he would not; opponents said he framed his response too legalistically and rationally, and did not address it properly on a personal level. Kitty Dukakis, among other public figures, found the question inflammatory and unwarranted at a presidential debate.

Several journalists also on the panel with Shaw, including Ann Compton, Andrea Mitchell, and Margaret Garrard Warner, indicated an interest in leaving Dukakis’s name out of the issue. He is especially remembered for his reporting on the 1991 Gulf War. Reporting with CNN correspondents John Holliman and Peter Arnett from the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad, he found safety under a desk as he observed cruise missiles whizzing by his window. He also made repeated travels back and forth from the hotel’s bomb bunker.

Vice-Presidential Debate

While describing the situation in Baghdad, he famously declared “Clearly I’ve never been there, but this feels like we’re in the midst of hell.” Shaw moderated the October 2000 vice-presidential debate between Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman. Shaw co-anchored CNN’s Inside Politics from 1992 until he retired from CNN in 2001. He occasionally appears on CNN, particularly in May 2005, when a jet went into restricted air space in Washington, D.C.

He also co-anchored Judy Woodruff’s last program on CNN in June 2005. Shaw observed that after 41 years in the industry, given what he missed in his personal life, the cost was not worth it. Shaw appeared on the June 1, 2020, episode of CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront to honor the 40th anniversary of the launch of the network.

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Which school and college did he go to?

Bernard Shaw attended the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1963 to 1968. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps, including periods in Hawaii and at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, North Carolina, where in 1962 he was a “Message Center” specialist, earning the rank of Corporal, E-4.

Physical Appearance of Bernard Shaw’s Height, Weight

HeightNot Available
Hair ColorWhite
Eye colorBlack
WeightNot Available
Body typeFit

Interesting facts about Bernard Shaw’s should be known

NationalityAmerican
EthnicityBlack
Zodiac signGemini
Relationship StatusMarried

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