Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw died yesterday after a short battle with non-COVID related pneumonia, the network reports.
The first chief anchor in the network’s history, Shawn retired from CNN in 2001 after more than 20 years with the network.
“CNN’s beloved anchor and colleague, Bernard Shaw, passed away yesterday at the age of 82. Bernie was a CNN original and was our Washington Anchor when we launched on June 1st, 1980,” CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht 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.”
Funeral services will be closed to only family and invited guests, the family said. A public memorial will be held at a later date.
“As a journalist, he demanded accuracy and fairness in news coverage,” said former CNN CEO Tom Johnson. “He earned the respect of millions of viewers around the world for his integrity and independence. He resisted forcefully any lowering of ethical news standards or any compromise of solid news coverage. He always could be trusted as a reporter and as an anchor,” Johnson said.
Shaw was 82.
