‘A Changed Man’ : CNN Anchor Bernard Shaw Reflects on Baghdad Stint

On the heels of CNN’s triumphant coverage of the Gulf War, anchor Bernard Shaw has a particular satisfaction.

“I will never forget,” he says, “that there was a time when we were ridiculed by our professional colleagues at the other networks. I will never forget all of the snide and cynical remarks about CNN when we went on the air because, in the process, people’s professionalism was being questioned. I resented it then, and I will never forget it.”

Shaw is sitting in his room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel following a speech earlier this week to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. He is a blunt man who says he is no longer angry, just fiercely competitive, in regard to ABC, CBS and NBC.

But noting the latest round of cutbacks at CBS News for financial reasons, he says, “If other networks concede any portion of the field to CNN, we’re going to gobble it up.”

The way things are going, with networks like CBS and NBC closing bureaus while CNN keeps adding them, that could very well happen in coming years. CNN reportedly is planning to open half a dozen new bureaus, and Shaw says that Amman, Jordan, and Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, are two of them.

With the cost of covering the war now having a tremendous impact on television news organizations, are there cutbacks at CNN as well?

“None whatsoever,” says Shaw, principal anchor of the all-news network. “The management is serious about that. Ted Turner (founder of CNN) is serious about that. We’re going to get better and bigger.”

CNN’s staff of 1,700 is already much larger than any news division of the Big Three networks, which each reportedly have about 1,000 employees or less.

In a further reversal of fortune, CBS, one of the networks that snubbed its nose at the lower salaries of CNN journalists, now is asking many staffers to take steep pay cuts to help meet the financial crunch.

“Because we covered the war the way we did,” says Shaw, “our saturation coverage will be a barometer the next time around if we have a similar kind of war. And I think our competitors will be under intense pressure to try to do that to remain competitive.”

Shaw, of course, is one of the trio of CNN reporters--along with Peter Arnett and John Holliman--who made history with their exclusive audio coverage from a Baghdad hotel room of the allied bombing attacks that launched the Gulf War.

And in his luncheon talk to the World Affairs Council on Monday, Shaw recalled: “The second night of the war, Peter, John and I stood in that room, looked at each other and we agreed (that) one of us has got to stay here.”

It was, of course, Arnett. And in the interview after his address to the World Affairs Council, Shaw said, “The decision was made by deduction. My reason for being there (a fast trip in hopes of interviewing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein) had dissolved when it was clear that Saddam was too busy fighting the war to do this interview. Fortunately, Peter got it later.

“Plus my wife was terribly concerned and wondering when I was coming home. John and Peter said, ‘Bernie, you’ve got to get back to Washington.’ They knew these reasons that I’ve just cited. John wanted to leave too. Peter (who is separated) said, ‘You’ve got a wife, John. I don’t. I’ll stay. Somebody’s got to stay to cover this side of the story.’ And he wanted to stay.”

There is a disarming, human, life-size quality about Shaw that sets him distinctly apart from his network anchor colleagues--Dan Rather, Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw--who are painted as larger-than-life figures by their companies.

Since returning from the war, Shaw has spoken unaffectedly about being frightened and having “a nervous stomach” during the hostilities.

“I was being honest,” he says. “You know when somebody’s trying to do a snow job on you. Viewers certainly know. I made a vow to myself before I became an anchor that there were certain things I would not do--and one of them is to create the impression that I’m unapproachable or that I’m in a tower or that I’m not human.”

Two days after making his way from Baghdad to Amman, Shaw was back in Washington being interviewed on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” and he says frankly, “I did not want to go on that program. I wanted to be by myself to reflect. I came back from Baghdad a changed man. I looked death in the eyes. No human gets many chances to do that twice.”

He feared accidental death during the bombing. “For what? A news story.”

Could it ever be worth it?

“Hell, no. Never.”

Since returning, says Shaw, “Personally, I’m much more focused. There’s not too much trivia in my life to begin with. And there damn sure is none now. Every hour, every day, is precious to me. That’s how it’s changed me. I just have a conscious awareness of being with the people I love, of working in the profession I love. What brings that focus around is the realization that life is very finite.”

Naturally, Shaw is working on a book about the Gulf conflict, “but it won’t be solely about the war. It’ll be about me: Who am I? A lot of people don’t know me. I’d rather be writing books, fiction and nonfiction. I don’t know that I’ll ever have time to do it, I’m so involved in my work.”

CNN was criticized during the war by those who thought its global outlook--and Arnett’s coverage from Baghdad--resulted in anti-U.S. propaganda. Asked about an article in the magazine Television Quarterly that says, “Scenarios can be developed that pit U.S. foreign policy against CNN’s responsibility to its world audience and international contributors,” Shaw says:

“Yup. That’s the crunch.”

The article continues: “If those scenarios ever materialize, some may suggest that CNN Center in Atlanta be declared international territory like the United Nations building in New York, and all of its employees receive world citizenship to operate freely and objectively in the global news environment. While it sounds far-fetched, CNN itself was called far-fetched by virtually everyone in television 10 years ago.”

Does the idea sound ridiculous or far-fetched to Shaw?

“No, it does not. We’re writing the book. This is all new. This thing is still evolving. This is a major development in journalism. There’s Ted and his concern about other people who are not Americans--and his edict about not using the word ‘foreign.’ ”

Would Shaw mind if CNN were regarded as an international organization rather than as American?

“I would have to give that long thought.”

At the World Affairs Council luncheon, Shaw drew applause when describing his refusal to be debriefed by an American Army colonel upon arriving in Amman from Baghdad.

Shaw said he didn’t want to endanger fellow staffers in Baghdad, give out information in front of Jordanians friendly to Iraq or create the notion that CNN reporters are spies. In any case, he told the U.S. officer: “I’m a noncombatant and it is not my role to inform either side.”

The officer persisted, saying: “Well, would it make any difference if I talked to Ted Turner or Ed Turner (CNN’s vice president for news gathering)?” Shaw replied: “Colonel, if Ted Turner or Ed talked to you, I still wouldn’t talk to you.”