Veteran CNN anchor Bernard Shaw died on Wednesday at the age of 82, according to a statement from his family on Thursday.
Shaw passed away from pneumonia that was unrelated to the coronavirus.
“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,” Chris Licht, CNN chairman and CEO, said in a statement.
“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,” he added.
Shaw covered some of the world’s top news stories over the past 40 years, including time reporting from a hotel room in Iraq at the beginning of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
As the co-anchor of “Prime News,” Shaw covered events such as the assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989, and the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
The long-time media veteran was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame in 1999. His list of multiple industry awards also included a lifetime achievement from the National Association of Black Journalists in 2007.
Shaw served as a U.S. Marine for four years, worked at CBS as a political reporter from 1971-1977, and worked at ABC News from 1977 to 1979 before his decades-long role at CNN, according to the Associated Press. CNN’s biography of Shaw also stated that he graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In addition to serving as a chief anchor, Shaw moderated the second presidential debate between George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis in 1988. He retired from CNN in 2001.
Tributes arose across social media as news of Shaw’s death became public on Thursday.
“We have lost a CNN original. A trailblazer and legend, a man of profound talent and endless grace. Soft spoken yet booming voice. A role model and example and mentor to so so many,” CNN’s John King tweeted.
We have lost a CNN original. A trailblazer and legend, a man of profound talent and endless grace. Soft spoken yet booming voice. A role model and example and mentor to so so many. #RIP Bernard Shaw.
— John King (@JohnKingCNN) September 8, 2022
Megyn Kelly also expressed her condolences following the news of Shaw’s passing.
“So sorry to hear this. Rest In Peace to a journalist who inspired me & so many others to get into this line of work. One of the best,” she wrote.
So sorry to hear this. Rest In Peace to a journalist who inspired me & so many others to get into this line of work. One of the best. https://t.co/6OJBkcn41S
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) September 8, 2022