Longtime political pundit and TV host Mark Shields has died at 85. He was best known for his weekly political analysis and commentary on PBS NewsHour from 1988 until 2020, with PBS anchor Judy Woodruff sharing the news on Saturday.
“I am heartbroken to share this..the NewsHour’s beloved long-time Friday night analyst Mark Shields, who for decades wowed us with his encyclopedic knowledge of American politics, his sense of humor and mainly his big heart, has passed away at 85, with his wife Anne at his side,” Woodruff wrote on Twitter. The announcement featured a picture of Shields and a follow-up by South Bend Mayor and former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.
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Shields’ niece, New York Times managing editor Carolyn Ryan, also shared the news online. “So sad to tell you that my uncle, Mark Shields, died this morning,” Ryan wrote. “He was a special guy: full of heart and wisdom and love. Love of politics, sports, and so many people.”
The late anchor’s daughter, Amy Shields Doyle, confirmed his cause of death. According to the New York Times, Shields passed away due to kidney failure.
The political mind leaves behind years of influential work, starting his foray into the world of Washington, D.C. in the ’60s after leaving the Marines. He would end up helping to lead Robert Kennedy’s 1968 presidential campaign, though he wasn’t on the scene when RFK was tragically assassinated in Los Angeles. “I’ll go to my grave believing Robert Kennedy would have been the best president of my lifetime,” Shields told the Times in 1993.
By the time the 1970s landed, Shields decided to change his focus a bit and join the ranks of D.C.’s muckrakers and journalists. He joined the Washington Post as an editorial writer before moving up to a weekly column. He spent time hosting shows during the Sunday circuit, hosting Capital Gang on CNN from 1988 until its cancellation in 2005. He was also a panelist on Inside Washington, wrote books about his time On the Campaign Trail, and taught courses at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.
His longest commentator stretch came with PBS, though. He was on the air from 1987 until he decided to retire at 83 in 2020. Rest in peace.
