Legendary journalist Bernard Shaw, CNN’s first chief anchor, dies at 82

Judy Woodruff:

Finally tonight, we remember a legendary newsman and pioneer, Bernard Shaw.

He died from pneumonia yesterday at the age of 82.

Bernard Shaw, News Anchor:

The number one challenge is not just to tell you what and why things happen here, but to explain what developments mean to you.

Judy Woodruff:

He was there from the earliest days when CNN began airing around the clock. Bernard Shaw was CNN's first chief anchor.

Frank Sesno, Former CNN Anchor:

Bernie was always the consummate newsman.

Judy Woodruff:

Former CNN anchor and bureau chief Frank Sesno worked with Shaw starting in the 1980s.

Frank Sesno:

Nobody knew about it, but there was Bernie. He was the grownup who'd come over from a broadcast network who had taken a flyer, who took a gamble on this new dream that Ted Turner had that there could be 24-hour news.

Judy Woodruff:

Always cool under pressure, Bernie covered some of the biggest breaking news stories of his time.

Frank Sesno:

I will never forget how he was that calm voice sort of almost doing play-by-play as the Chinese authorities cut CNN's coverage during the Tiananmen Square standoff.

Bernard Shaw:

I'm being told that the government officials are coming into the CNN control room now.

Judy Woodruff:

From the massacre at Tiananmen Square to the first Gulf War, Shaw was how many viewers learned about history-making developments around the world.

Bernard Shaw:

This is Bernie.

Person:

Go ahead, Bernie.

Bernard Shaw:

I'm just crouching down here on the floor to get a better point of observation. The sky over Baghdad is black.

You can hear an occasional truck or car go by, but you wouldn't know that there's life outside these windows.

Judy Woodruff:

Shaw asked hard questions of leaders around the world and politicians from both parties in the U.S. In a 1988 presidential debate, he surprised then-Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

Bernard Shaw:

You have two minutes to respond.

Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?

Judy Woodruff:

Sesno says Shaw set the standard for unbiased reporting.

Frank Sesno:

It was integrity, integrity for himself, integrity for the network, integrity for the story. And if something went wrong, boy, that bothered him, and he would let you know it.

And he also was such a deep believer in America and the role that journalism played. He was one of a kind.

Judy Woodruff:

The first Black anchor for CNN, Bernie was a trailblazer, inspiring a generation of Black journalists.

Bernard Shaw:

Diversity. Diversity is not racial, ethnic, or gender encroachment. Diversity is our national survival.

Judy Woodruff:

Today, we remember Bernie Shaw as a pioneer, an icon among journalists, and as a dear friend.

My friend, my partner.

Bernie retired from CNN just over 20 years ago, but, thankfully, he and his wife, Linda, stayed in touch. I was fortunate to work alongside him for eight years there as his co-anchor on a program called "Inside Politics" and many other ventures, including, most memorably, election nights.

He was, as you just heard, the consummate professional newsman, always a stickler for facts, someone who took the news seriously, held himself to the highest standards, but who also took time to appreciate everyone in the village it takes to report news for television.

And, of course, he was a pioneer, at a time when there were few Black journalists at his level. When I think about the two people I was lucky to sit next to as co-anchor for the longest time, Bernie Shaw and, later, Gwen Ifill, I am overflowing with gratitude. What a gift.