Shaw became the first chief anchor for the network in 1980 and remained with the network for over 20 years. A closed funeral for Shaw will be held for family and close friends along with a public memorial, according to his family.

“Bernie was a CNN original and was our Washington Anchor when we launched on June 1st, 1980,” CNN chief Chris Licht said in a statement. “He was our lead anchor for the next twenty years from anchoring coverage of presidential elections to his iconic coverage of the First Gulf War live from Baghdad in 1991.”