The show became CNN’s anchor on June 1, 1980. He left CNN on February 28, 2001, after 20 years. Bernard Shaw addressed important world events like the Tiananmen Square student movement in 1989, the First Gulf War in 1991, and the 2000 presidential election.
CNN Veteran anchor Bernard Shaw, 82, Died
Bernard Shaw, a CNN veteran, and friend died Friday at 82. “Bernie remained our anchor for the next twenty years, from coverage of the presidential election through his historic coverage of the First Gulf War, live from Baghdad in 1991,” CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht said Thursday. Bernie has remained a close CNN family member, providing perspective on historical events as recently as last year.
Shaw’s private funeral:
Family members and invited guests will attend Shaw’s private funeral; a public memorial service will be held later.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be directed to the Bernard Shaw Scholarship Fund at the University of Chicago, said former CNN CEO, Tom Johnson.
Johnson said Shaw “exhibited brilliance in his life” and will be remembered as a champion of responsible journalism.
He insisted on objectivity and precision in the reporting he commissioned:
According to colleagues, “he insisted on objectivity and precision in the reporting he commissioned. For being forthright and unaffiliated, he has gained the admiration of millions of people around the globe.” “She can rely on both as a reporter and an anchor, and that’s saying something,” Johnson said.
Bernie was a trusted friend and coworker for nearly 55 years. Edwina and I send our sympathies to Linda, Bernie’s wife, and his entire family.
CNN founder Ted Turner poses with anchors Larry King, Judy Woodruff, and Bernard Shaw at the 20th-anniversary banquet in Atlanta on June 1, 2000. Shaw was born in Chicago on May 22, 1940, to Edgar and Camilla Shaw.
During his four years in the Marines, he was stationed in Hawaii and met the late Walter Cronkite.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told Shaw, “One day you’ll be successful, just do something kind.”
His first TV gig was with CBS, where he covered politics and Watergate. He took the only aerial images of the Jonestown, Guyana tragedy as ABC’s Latin America correspondent and bureau chief. He left ABC to join the groundbreaking Cable News Network, founded by Ted Turner.
Baghdad Boys:
His coverage of the First Gulf War is credited with establishing CNN as a global news leader.
They were known as the “Baghdad Boys” for their live coverage of the first Baghdad strike.
Shaw, reporting from a Baghdad hotel as bombs rained down, said, “We see bright flashes all throughout the sky.” Arnett said, “When I got to the platform, Bernie was saying, “Atlanta, come to Baghdad.”
“With a microphone and an instinct to transmit, he took over the planet,” said Arnett.
Shaw told NPR in 2014 that he wanted to be able to control his emotions when chaos erupted.
The more dramatic the news item, the more laid-back I try to appear. People rely on you to deliver an objective account of events, so I have to manage my emotions and even the tone of my voice.
Bernard Shaw mediated the 2000 vice presidential debate between Joseph Lieberman and Richard Cheney in Danville, Kentucky. This debate was five weeks before November 7.
Shaw anchored CNN’s coverage of the Reagan assassination attempt less than a year later when other networks were reporting James Brady’s death. The show is noted for its confrontational interviews, and its host made history in 1988 as the first African-American journalist to moderate a presidential debate.
Shaw brought up the death penalty when he re-interviewed George W. Bush and Michael Dukakis.
Shaw asked Dukakis, “Would you support the death penalty if someone raped and killed Kitty Dukakis?”
Some think the question ended a candidate’s career and changed the election. Bernard Shaw is filmed at CNN’s Atlanta offices on November 10, 2000. Shaw’s 20 years at CNN. He expects to leave in the first quarter of 2001 to focus on writing and family.
Shaw left CNN in November 2000 to focus on his writing and family:
“The finest time for me was just being here, trying to meet your demand for rapid information with context,” he told viewers. “I welcome your criticism and ideas more than your appreciation. Close examination may be enlightening.”
Leaving CNN, especially after 20 years, is harder than entering the business, but some roses are more fragrant than others. “Shaw was inducted into the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame in 1999 and has won numerous awards for his journalism, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcasting.
On the occasion of CNN’s 35th-anniversary celebration in Atlanta in 2015, he addressed current and former employees, saying, “We’ve been successful because you made excellence a habit. You did it every day… you kept fighting.”
“The most important chair isn’t the anchor chair,” says Shaw.
Sound engineer, director, editor, and reporter chairs all rate high.
“Vow to go one step farther as a CNN employee,” he encouraged the team.
Amar Edgar and Anil Louise Shaw and Linda Shaw survive him.
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