Bernard Shaw

Journalist

• Born: May 22, 1940
• Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
• Died: September 7, 2022
• Place of death: Washington, D.C.

Shaw was one of three CNN reporters who covered Operation Desert Storm live via satellite—the first time in American history that a war was covered live on television. He worked in broadcast news at CBS and ABC, but it was his work at CNN that brought him accolades.

Areas of achievement: Journalism and publishing; Radio and television

Early Life

Bernard Shaw was born on May 22, 1940, to Edgar and Camilia Shaw in Chicago, Illinois. From a very young age, he had a deep interest in news and knew that he wanted to work in the industry someday. As a teenager, Shaw was an avid reader of the newspaper and did his best to network with local journalists to learn all he could about the industry. He wrote for his school newspaper and looked for any opportunity to participate in local radio contests.

Shaw joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1959. While stationed in Hawaii, he made it a point to meet one of his journalism heroes, Walter Cronkite, who happened to be passing through the area. In 1963, Shaw enrolled at the University of Illinois as a history major. A year later, he began working in broadcast at WNUS radio. Three years into his college career, he left school for Washington, DC, where he became a White House correspondent for Westinghouse Broadcasting. In 1971, he moved on to work for CBS thanks to his friendship with Cronkite. Six years later, he moved to ABC to work as Miami bureau chief and Latin American correspondent. It was in that post that Shaw became one of the first reporters to reach the scene of the 1978 Jonestown massacre and report on it.

In 1974, Shaw married Linda Allston. The couple had two children. Shaw credits his wife with helping him make the decision to move from broadcast to cable television. One of his colleagues at ABC News left the network to help start the new twenty-four-hour cable news network that would become CNN. Shaw took a chance and got involved with the new venture, which launched in 1980. However, it was not until 1987, on the eve of the United States’ summit with the Soviet Union, that Shaw, representing CNN, sat with correspondents from the big three networks (CBS, NBC, and ABC) to interview President Ronald Reagan.

Life’s Work

Shaw spent most of his career working in broadcast television, but he is best known for his contributions to CNN and to the cable news industry. Many were critical of Shaw in his early days with CNN. His serious nature, deep voice, and difficult interview questions were judged as harsh by some audience members. This was especially true when he moderated the 1998 presidential debate between George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis. Shaw challenged the candidates to answer questions about racial profiling and other contentious issues. However, over time, audiences grew more comfortable with Shaw’s style as he covered many stories that had great impact worldwide, including China’s historic student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

Shaw did his most famous reporting nearly two years later. In January 1991, he went to Baghdad to interview Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. The interview was canceled, and Shaw and fellow CNN correspondents John Holliman and Peter Arnett were stranded in the Middle East when the Gulf War was launched. They continued to cover the story when all of the broadcast networks and most newspapers pulled out of the region. CNN became the first network to provide live coverage of a war, and Shaw was on the front line.

Shaw has received numerous awards for his work over the years. He was named Black Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in 1989. He also has received multiple Emmys, a Peabody Award, and multiple Awards for Cable Excellence (ACEs) from the National Academy of Cable Programming. He has been awarded honorary degrees from Marion College, the University of Chicago, and Northeastern University. After working at CNN for twenty years, Shaw announced his retirement in 2000. In 2007 he received the NABJ Lifetime Achievement Award.

Significance

Shaw’s work at CNN is part of a significant chapter in American history. Shaw and his CNN colleagues were the first to cover news twenty-four hours a day. In addition, he was part of the first news team in the world to cover war live via satellite. Shaw’s work at the network set the tone for what “up-to-the-minute” news coverage in America would become. As a journalist, Shaw covered many of the biggest news stories around the world.

Bibliography

“A Farewell Tribute to Bernard Shaw.” CNN.com Transcripts. Cable News Network, 2 Mar. 2001. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Kellner, Douglas. The Persian Gulf TV War. Boulder: Westview, 1992. Print.

Schaefer, Todd M., and Thomas A. Birkland, eds. Encyclopedia of Media and Politics. Washington, D.C.: CQ P, 2007. Print.

Shaw, Bernard. “Former CNN Anchor Kept Cool, but Paid the Price of Success.” Interview by Michel Martin. NPR. NPR, 30 July 2014. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Smith, Perry. How CNN Fought the War: A View from the Inside. New York: Carol, 1991. Print.