Bernard Shaw, original CNN anchor and longtime contributor, dies at 82

Veteran newsman Bernard Shaw, CNN’s first chief anchor who helmed coverage at the cable news network for two decades, has died. He was 82.

Shaw died Wednesday of pneumonia unrelated to COVID-19, his family said in a Thursday statement to CNN.

The journalist was one of the first Black network anchors and his career at CNN spanned the time between the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and the 2000 election recount. Shaw remained at CNN until his contract expired in 2000 when he left to write his autobiography and spend more time with his family.

He returned to the channel over the years as a contributor and also appeared as himself in the 1997 Hollywood films “Contact” and “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.”

“Bernie was a CNN original and was our Washington anchor when we launched on June 1, 1980,” CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht said in a Thursday statement to The Times.

“He was our lead anchor for the next 20 years from anchoring coverage of presidential elections to his iconic coverage of the first Gulf War live from Baghdad in 1991,” Licht said. “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. “

Shaw’s family said funeral services will be closed, with family and invited guests only. A public memorial service will be 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,” their statement said.

Shaw is survived by his wife Linda and his children.