Shields was well known for his “encyclopedic knowledge of American politics, his sense of humor, and most of all his big heart,” wrote Judy Woodruff, lead and managing editor of NewsHour, in a tweet announcing his death.
Shields was a liberal political commentator on the broadcast for 33 years, in six presidential administrations, until he decided to retire in 2020.
He also appeared regularly on CNN for decades, mainly as a co-host of the weekly panel discussion show “Capital Gang” from 1988 to 2005, where he challenged conservative co-hosts such as Robert Novak, Pat Buchanan and Kate O’Barn .
“We at CNN were so happy to work with such a nice, brilliant, funny person who was the same person for influential politicians as the youngest employee on our team,” said Rick Davis, a former CNN executive vice president. He used to be the executive producer of Capital Gang. “Shields was as good as you’d be in this business,” he added.
Shields, a native of Weymouth, Massachusetts, graduated from the University of Notre Dame before serving in the United States Marine Corps. He worked for several local and national democratic political campaigns, including Robert F. Kennedy’s candidacy for president in 1968, and gained first-hand experience that he later shared with readers and viewers.
In 1979, he became a columnist for The Washington Post, and soon the column was distributed nationally by the Creators Syndicate.
“I believe in politics,” Shields wrote of NPR’s This I Believe series in 2006, expressing both optimism about peaceful conflict resolution and pragmatism about the need for compromise. He also read the essay aloud in the Morning Edition.
“In the worst case, politicians – like the rest of us – can be petty, saleslike and self-centered,” he wrote. “But I believe that politics, at its best, can help make our world where the strong are really fairer and the poor are safer.
Shields brought this perspective to television in 1988, when he was appointed to his post for PBS analysis. One partner in these regular segments was David Gergen, a veteran presidential adviser.
Gergen wrote on Saturday that Shields “was one of the best partners in the history of television – thoughtful, witty, always a champion of the little boy. He brought out the best in everyone he touched.”
He also combined reason with Paul Gigot, editor of The Wall Street Journal, and columnist David Brooks of The New York Times.
In a tweet on Saturday, Brooks described Shields as “one of the best and most beloved men I’ve ever known,” adding a 2020 story he wrote entitled “Mark Shields and the Best of American Liberalism.”
During his retirement from NewsHour, Shields, with his typical self-contained humor, called his discussions on Friday night with Brooks “the most rewarding professional experience of my apparently career.”
“It’s been 33 wonderful years,” he said during his farewell show.
His television conversations were a happier moment in American politics and television news, with an abundance of deep insights and in-depth discussions rather than the tapes and insults often popularized today.
Shields died of kidney failure at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, NewsHour spokesman Nick Masella told NPR. His wife, Anne, was next to him, Udruff wrote in his tweet.
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