Legendary newsman and former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw has died. He was 82

According to Wikipedia, Shaw began his broadcasting career as an anchor and reporter for WNUS in Chicago. He then worked as a reporter for the Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in Chicago, moving later to Washington as the White House correspondent. He worked as a correspondent in the Washington Bureau of CBS News from 1971 to 1977. In 1977, he moved to ABC News as Latin American correspondent and bureau chief before becoming the Capitol Hill Senior Correspondent. He left ABC in 1980 to move to CNN as co-anchor of its PrimeNews broadcast, anchoring from Washington, D.C.. Shaw’s coverage of the 1981 assassination attempt on U.S. president Ronald Reagan (with Shaw joined by former CBS News correspondent Daniel Schorr, one of the first on-air personalities hired by the fledgling cable channel) is credited as helping to establish CNN as a credible and reliable broadcast news source at an early point in the network’s history.

CNN reports that funeral services for Shaw will be closed to family and invited guests only, with a public memorial service planned at a later time, his family said.

“In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Bernard Shaw Scholarship Fund at the University of Chicago. The Shaw family requests complete privacy at this time,” the family said in their statement provided by former CNN CEO Tom Johnson.

In a statement, Johnson said Shaw “exemplified excellence in his life” and will be “remembered as a fierce advocate of responsible journalism.”

“As a journalist, he demanded accuracy and fairness in news coverage. He earned the respect of millions of viewers around the world for his integrity and independence. He resisted forcefully any lowering of ethical news standards or any compromise of solid news coverage. He always could be trusted as a reporter and as an anchor,” Johnson said.

“Bernie was my personal friend and colleague for more than 55 years. I will miss him enormously,” he added.

PHOTO: CNN