Bernard Shaw, former CNN anchor, dies at 82

Former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw. (CNN) Former CNN host Bernard Shaw died Wednesday of pneumonia unrelated to COVID-19, his family announced in a statement Thursday. Shaw was 82 years old. Shaw was CNN’s first chief anchor and was with the network when it launched on June 1, 1980. He retired from CNN after more than 20 years on February 28, 2001. During his career, Shaw reported on some of the the biggest news stories of the time, such as the Tiananmen Square student uprising in May 1989, the First Gulf War live from Baghdad in 1991, and the 2000 presidential election. “Even after he left CNN, Bernie continued to being a close member of our CNN family, providing our viewers with context on historical events as recent as the past year,” Chris Licht, CNN president and CEO, said in a statement Thursday. “Condolences from all of us at CNN go out to his wife Linda and his children.” Shaw’s funeral will be exclusively for family and guests, and a public funeral is scheduled to be held at a later date, according to the family. “In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the University of Chicago Bernard Shaw Scholarship Fund. The Shaw family requests complete privacy at this time,” the family said in their statement.