Mark Shields obit

PBS NewsHour commentator Mark Shields dies at age 85

 

He was not on the list.

Mark Shields, the longtime PBS News commentator known for his weekly political analysis, died Saturday morning at the age of 85, PBS NewsHour confirmed.

Shields died of kidney failure at his home in Chevy Chase, Md., NewsHour spokesman Nick Massella told NPR.

Before he retired in 2020, Shields provided thoughtful insights into the administrations of six U.S. presidents, on the Persian Gulf War, the Iran-Contra affair and 9/11. His tenure lasted for 33 years.

Shields was known for both his sense of humor and his expansive knowledge of American politics, Judy Woodruff, the anchor and managing editor of NewsHour said in a tweet announcing his death.

"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 tweeted.

Woodruff also said in a statement: "Mark Shields had a magical combination of talents: an unsurpassed knowledge of politics and a passion, joy, and irrepressible humor that shone through in all his work. He loved most politicians, but could spot a phony and was always bold to call out injustice. Along with Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil, he personified all that's special in the PBS NewsHour."

The Wall Street Journal called Shields "the wittiest political analyst around" and The Washington Post described him as "a walking almanac of American politics."

"Mark radiates a generosity of spirit that improves all who come within his light," David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, wrote shortly after Shields retired. The two discussed politics together on NewsHour Friday evenings for nearly two decades.

Shields was a native of Weymouth, Mass., and graduated from the University of Notre Dame. After college, Shields went on to serve in the United States Marine Corps. Afterwards, he worked for several local and presidential races before embarking on his PBS career in 1988. Shields was also a columnist for several news outlets, including CNN and ABC.

He showed his famous sense of humor in a 2006 commentary for NPR's "This I Believe" series, writing: "I admire enormously the candidate able to face defeat with humor and grace. Nobody ever conceded defeat better than Dick Tuck who, upon losing a California state senate primary, said simply, 'The people have spoken ... the bastards.' "

Shields married Anne Hudson, who is a lawyer and former civil service official at the United States Department of the Interior, in 1966. The couple have a daughter, Amy, and two grandchildren.

 

Shields died from kidney failure at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on June 18, 2022, aged 85.

Shields was based in Washington D.C. from 1965, initially working as an aide to Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire. Shields joined Robert F. Kennedy's presidential campaign in 1968. He later held leadership positions in the presidential campaigns of Edmund Muskie and Morris Udall, and was political director for Sargent Shriver when he ran for Vice President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1972. Over more than a decade, he helped manage state and local campaigns in some 38 states, including incumbent Boston mayor Kevin White's successful re-election campaign in 1975.

In 1979, Shields became an editorial writer for The Washington Post. The same year, he began writing a column which was distributed nationally by Creators Syndicate. He covered 12 presidential campaigns and attended 24 national party conventions. He taught U.S. politics and the press at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy. In addition he was a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government.

Shields was a regular political commentator on the PBS NewsHour from 1988 to 2020. Anchorwoman Judy Woodruff announced on the December 14, 2020, edition of the NewsHour that Shields would be leaving the show as a regular analyst after its December 18 edition. During Shields' last regular appearance on December 18, Woodruff added that he would remain an occasional contributor to the NewsHour during important political news and events.