Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw dies at 82

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Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw has died.

Shaw, 82, died Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, his family announced Sept. 8, 2022 from pneumonia. The family noted his illness was not related to COVID-19.

Shaw, who was Black, had a pioneering journalism career and joined CNN for its debut in 1980 as chief anchor.

As CNN rose to prominence throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Shaw reported on many key news stories and became known in many circles as a de facto “fourth” network anchor alongside Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather.

Shaw retired from CNN Feb. 28, 2001 after over two decades with the network.

Shaw was born in Chicago and attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and Indiana University. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and originally became interested in print journalism but would enter TV at a Chicago station before joining the now defunct Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in the Windy City.

He was moved up to White House Correspondent for the network and served as a correspondent for CBS News from 1971 to 1977 before jumping to ABC as its Latin American correspondent. He later moved over to the Capitol Hill beat.

At CNN, he grew to a status that was arguably never surpassed by any other anchor at the network since his retirement, often helming the network’s coverage of major events.

“CNN’s beloved anchor and colleague, Bernard Shaw, passed away yesterday at the age of 82,” current CNN CEO Chris Licht said in a statement. “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. 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.”

In lieu of flowers, Shaw’s family requests donations be made to the Bernard Shaw Scholarship Fund at the University of Chicago. Funeral services will be private for friends and family, but a public memorial service will held in the future.