Bernard Shaw, a pioneering Black journalist who was CNN’s lead anchor for 20 years, died Wednesday from pneumonia unrelated to COVID-19, the cable network said. He was 82.
“Bernie was a CNN original and was our Washington anchor when we launched on June 1st, 1980. He was our lead anchor for the next twenty years from anchoring coverage of presidential elections to his iconic coverage of the First Gulf War live from Baghdad in 1991,” Chris Licht, CNN’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement Thursday. “He was our lead anchor for the next twenty years from anchoring coverage of presidential elections to his iconic coverage of the First Gulf War live from Baghdad in 1991. 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.”
CNN anchor Don Lemon paid tribute to Shaw, writing on Twitter: “Thank you Bernie for paving the way! For the late-night pep talks & words of encouragement. Your brilliance, courage & humility made the world a better place.”
Bernice King, CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, also honored Shaw with a post on Twitter, writing: “Thank you for what you’ve meant to this nation, to the world, and to my family, including both my parents.”
Related Story: Denise Dowse Dies: ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ Actress Was 64
According to his biography on CNN’s website, Shaw covered some of the most important international stories of the last three decades, including the student uprising in Tiananmen Square in 1989, the death of Princess Diana in 1997, and the 2000 presidential race. He earned the nickname one of the “Boys of Baghdad,” for his fearless reporting during the first Gulf War in 1991, with colleagues Peter Arnett and John Holliman.
He retired from CNN on Feb. 28, 2001.
Prior to joining the cable news network, Shaw worked for CBS News as a Washington correspondent, and at ABC News covering Latin America and Capitol Hill. But it was CNN that would make him a household name.
Funeral services for Shaw will be closed to family and invited guests only, with a public memorial service planned at a later time.
“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,” the family said in a statement provided by former CNN CEO Tom Johnson.
