Bernard Shaw

    Let me tell you about a remarkable journalist who covered the Persian Gulf War from a hotel in Iraq, moderated the first African American presidential debate, and was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. Do you know who I'm referring to? If not, just look at the title - his name is Bernard Shaw.

  Before pursuing his illustrious broadcasting career, Bernard Shaw was born in Chicago on May 22, 1940. His parents were Edgar Shaw, a railroad employee, and Camila Shaw, a housekeeper. Shaw attended Dunbar Vocational High School, where he became interested in journalism. While Shaw was in high school, he began to read many of the local papers, and he was an avid watcher of Edward Murrow's news broadcast, See It Now. He cited Murrow as a massive influence in his life; all of these influences led to Shaw working on his high school paper, and by his senior year, he was the chief editor. In 1958, after finishing high school, Shaw decided to pursue a career in the military and joined the United States Marine Corps the following year. While stationed in Hawaii in 1961, he came across a newspaper article mentioning Walter Cronkite's presence on the island. This piqued his interest, and he called the hotel where Cronkite was staying 34 times to find out his room number. Cronkite eventually answered the next day, and they spoke on the phone before meeting at the hotel. During their meeting, Shaw expressed his desire to become a journalist and work for CBS alongside Cronkite. Shaw served diligently in the Marines until 1963, achieving the rank of Corporal E-4 and working as the Message Center specialist at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point base in North Carolina.

   

After leaving the Marines, Shaw enrolled at the University of Illinois in 1964, where he studied history. He would often clip newspaper articles and make frequent trips to DC. In the same year, Shaw started his broadcasting career as an anchor and reporter for WNUS in Chicago. However, his time at WNUS was brief, as he left the company after only two years to work for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also based in Chicago. Shaw graduated from college in 1968 and immediately moved to DC to become the White House correspondent for Westinghouse. From 1971 to 1977, he worked as a Washington correspondent for CBS News before moving to ABC News in 1977. Shaw began his time at ABC News as a Latin America correspondent before being promoted to Capitol Hill Senior Correspondent. In 1980, Shaw departed from ABC to co-anchor Prime News at CNN, where he was among the network's first hires and served as its chief anchor. However, it was on March 30, 1981, that Shaw and CNN made history. After concluding his coverage of President Reagan's speech at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Shaw was preparing to hand over to Atlanta when a report came in that shots had been fired near the hotel. Without any confirmation of an assassination attempt on the President, Shaw maintained a calm and composed demeanor, providing only the facts of the situation to viewers. CNN was able to report on the attack four minutes before any other major news network, catapulting the network to the forefront of breaking news coverage.

In 1988, Shaw was selected to moderate the second US presidential debate between Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush, making him the first-ever African-American presidential debate moderator. However, the debate was marred by controversy over one of Shaw's questions. Going into the debate, Bush held a marginal lead in the polls, but many believed that Dukakis could overtake him with a strong performance. Shaw's opening question to Dukakis was loaded: "Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?" This was a sensitive issue for Dukakis because he was known for his opposition to the death penalty. Dukakis' response to the question was seen as emotionless and clinical, as he focused on the policy implications of the death penalty instead of addressing the emotional impact of such a tragedy. This response contributed to the perception that Dukakis was cold and unfeeling, which hurt his campaign and ultimately led to his defeat.

Shaw was also a remarkable war reporter, best known for his coverage of the 1991 Gulf War. Alongside two other CNN correspondents, Shaw reported on the war from a hotel in Baghdad, even having to take cover under a desk as cruise missiles flew overhead. His reporting was so impressive that then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney praised CNN, saying it had the best reporting he had seen from Baghdad. Shaw's involvement in significant events didn't stop there, though. He covered the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989, the California Earthquake of 1994, the death and funeral of Princess Diana in 1997, and even moderated the 2000 vice presidential debate.

    Shaw would eventually decide to retire from CNN in March 2001. Even though he occasionally appeared on CNN when significant news happened, such as when a plane flew into White House air space in 2005, Shaw preferred to stay out of the public eye. He had a wife and two kids and cherished spending time with them. In a 2014 interview, Shaw revealed that while he enjoyed all the success, he believed it wasn't worth all the life experiences he missed out on with his loved ones. He even said he would trade all of his success back for that time. Unfortunately, Shaw passed away on September 27, 2022, due to pneumonia. He was 82 years old.