Mark Shields Dies: Longtime ‘PBS NewsHour’ Commentator Was 85

deadline.com:

Mark Shields, who provided witty, informed and insightful analysis of politics on PBS NewsHour for more than three decades, has died.Shields was 85.

He died of kidney failure at his home in Chevy Chase, Md., on Saturday, a spokesperson for the show told NPR.Judy Woodruff, the anchor of NewsHour, wrote on Twitter, “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.”Shields retired from the regular segments in 2020, having done a regular segment on the broadcast for more than 33 years.Shields started as an editorial writer at The Washington Post in 1979, after a career working as a legislative assistant and speechwriter for Senator William Proxmire and later on the 1968 presidential campaign of Robert Kennedy.

He went on to hold senior positions in three other presidential campaigns, along with other races.He also was a guest on other panel shows such as Meet the Press, and was part of the team that launched the CNN series The Capital Gang, which ran from 1988 to 2005.Broadcast networks’ fall lineups and schedulesNew and returning series on broadcast, cable and streamingSeries that made it or didn’t make it in 2021-22