Editing Mark Shields

{{Short description|American political columnist and commentator (1937–2022)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{about|the American political commentator|the former deputy police commissioner of Jamaica|Mark Shields (police officer)|the Australian referee|Mark Shield}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Mark Shields
| image        = Mark Shields 2010 snapshot.jpg
| alt          = Photographic portrait of Mark Shields
| caption      = Shields in 2010
| birth_name   = Mark Stephen Shields
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1937|05|25}}
| birth_place  = [[Weymouth, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2022|6|18|1937|05|25}}
| death_place  = [[Chevy Chase, Maryland]], U.S.
| other_names  = 
| occupation   = [[Political analyst]], journalist
| years_active = 1962–2020
| alma_mater   = [[University of Notre Dame]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
| spouse       = {{marriage|Anne Hudson|1966}}
| children     = 1
| party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| module       = {{infobox military person
|allegiance    = {{Flagu|United States|1960|size=23px}}
| serviceyears = 1960–1962
| rank         = [[File:USMC-E3.svg|25px]] [[Lance corporal]]
|branch        = {{Nowrap|{{Flag|United States Marine Corps|size=23px}}}}
| embed        = yes
}}
}}
'''Mark Stephen Shields''' (May 25, 1937 – June 18, 2022) was an American political columnist, advisor, and [[Political commentator|commentator]]. He worked in leadership positions for many [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidates' electoral campaigns.

Shields provided weekly political analysis and commentary for the ''[[PBS NewsHour]]'' from 1988 to 2020. His on-screen counterpart from 2001 to 2020 was [[David Brooks (journalist)|David Brooks]] of ''[[The New York Times]]''. Previous counterparts were [[William Safire]], [[Paul Gigot]] of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', and [[David Gergen]].  Shields was also a regular panelist on ''[[Inside Washington]]'', a weekly public affairs show that was seen on both [[PBS]] and [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] until it ceased production in December 2013. Shields was moderator and panelist on [[CNN]]'s ''[[Capital Gang]]'' for 17 years.

== Early life and education ==
[[File:Shields and Brooks on Trump’s primary sweep, Clinton’s ‘woman’s card’.webm|thumbtime=45|thumb|Mark Shields on ''[[PBS NewsHour]]'' on April 29, 2016]]
Shields was born on May 25, 1937,<ref name="WaPoObit">{{cite news |last1=Schudel |first1=Matt |title=Mark Shields, columnist and TV political commentator, dies at 85 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/06/18/tv-political-commentator-mark-shields-dies/ |access-date=June 20, 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 18, 2022}}</ref> and raised in [[Weymouth, Massachusetts]], in an [[Irish Catholic]] family, the son of Mary (Fallon), a schoolteacher, and William Shields, a paper salesman, who was involved in local politics.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/us/politics/mark-shields-dead.html |title=Mark Shields, TV Pundit Known for His Sharp Wit, Dies at 85 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date= June 18, 2022|accessdate=2022-06-18|last1=Haberman |first1=Clyde|url-access = limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Shields|first=Mark|url=http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields/my-kind-of-sermon.html|title=My Kind of Sermon|publisher=Creators Syndicate|date=August 18, 2009|access-date=July 4, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090704034129/http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields/my-kind-of-sermon.html|archive-date=July 4, 2009}}</ref> He graduated from the [[University of Notre Dame]] in 1959 with a [[bachelor's degree]] in philosophy.<ref name=obit/>

==Career==
In the early 1960s, Shields enlisted in the [[United States Marine Corps]] in Florida.<ref name="NYT1993 At Dinner">{{cite news|last1=Kolbert |first1=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Kolbert |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/14/style/dinner-with-mark-shields-with-sidekick-gone-pundit-next-door-still-guards-left.html|title=AT DINNER WITH – Mark Shields; With Sidekick Gone, The Pundit Next Door Still Guards the Left|date=July 14, 1993|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.creators.com/liberal/mark-shields/america-needs-more-marine-corps-values.html|title=America Needs More Marine Corps Values by Mark Shields on Creators.com – A Syndicate Of Talent|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726132218/http://www.creators.com/liberal/mark-shields/america-needs-more-marine-corps-values.html|archive-date=2010-07-26}}</ref> He was a [[lance corporal]] before he was discharged in 1962.<ref name=obit/>

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 (mayor)|Kevin White]]'s successful re-election campaign in 1975.<ref name=obit/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.boston.com/uncategorized/noprimarytagmatch/2012/02/21/journalist-mark-shields-shares-award-for-civility-in-public-life/|title=Journalist Mark Shields shares award for civility in public life|website=www.boston.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Cynthia Littleton |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/mark-shields-dead-85-pbs-newshour-capital-gang-1235297859/ |title=Mark Shields Dead: 'PBS NewsHour' Political Analyst Was 85 |work=Variety |date= June 18, 2022|accessdate=2022-06-18}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="PBS" /> He covered 12 presidential campaigns and attended 24 national party conventions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsb.com/speakers/mark-shields?search%5Bq%5D=mark|title=Speaker Bio: Mark Shields – WSB (formerly Washington Speakers Bureau)|website=www.wsb.com|access-date=November 7, 2019|archive-date=November 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191107233133/https://www.wsb.com/speakers/mark-shields?search%5Bq%5D=mark|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/shields-brooks-convention-successful-clintons-failure-emotionally-connect|title=Shields and Brooks on which convention was more successful, Clinton's failure to emotionally connect|date=July 29, 2016|website=PBS NewsHour}}</ref> He taught U.S. politics and the press at the [[University of Pennsylvania]]'s [[Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania|Wharton School]] and [[Georgetown University]]'s [[McCourt School of Public Policy]]. In addition he was a fellow at the [[Harvard Institute of Politics]] at [[Harvard Kennedy School]].<ref name="PBS"/>

Shields was a regular political commentator on the ''[[PBS NewsHour]]'' from 1988 to 2020.<ref name="PBS">{{cite web|title=Mark Shields to Step Down as Friday Night Regular on PBS NewsHour |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/press-releases/mark-shields-to-step-down-as-friday-night-regular-on-pbs-newshour|date=December 14, 2020|access-date=2020-12-18|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us}}</ref> [[anchorman|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's last regular appearance on December 18, Woodruff added that he would remain an occasional contributor to the ''NewsHour'' during important political news and events.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mark Shields, political analyst on PBS 'NewsHour,' is stepping down after 33 years with the network|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/14/media/mark-shields-pbs-newshour/index.html |last1=Stelter |first1=Brian |author-link=Brian Stelter |date=December 14, 2020 |access-date=December 18, 2020|publisher=CNN Business}}</ref>

Shields was the author of ''On the Campaign Trail'', about the [[1984 United States presidential election|1984 presidential campaign]].<ref name=obit/>

== Personal life ==
Shields married Anne Hudson, who is a lawyer and former civil service official at the [[United States Department of the Interior]], in 1966.<ref name = obit/><ref name="NYT1993 At Dinner" /> The couple have a daughter, Amy Shields Doyle,<ref name="NYT2001">[https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/09/style/weddings-amy-shields-christopher-doyle.html "WEDDINGS; Amy Shields, Christopher Doyle"], ''The New York Times'', September 9, 2001</ref> and two grandchildren.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/press-releases/mark-shields-to-step-down-as-friday-night-regular-on-pbs-newshour|title=Mark Shields to Step Down as Friday Night Regular on PBS NewsHour|website=PBS NewsHour}}</ref>

He was on the board of directors of SOME ([[So Others Might Eat]]) and he established the William and Mary Shields Scholarship Program in honor of his parents at the University of Notre Dame for students who are the first members of their families to go to college.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zimmermann |first=Mark |date=June 23, 2022 |title=At Funeral Mass, political commentator Mark Shields remembered as a man of faith and humor who believed 'politics is about justice' |url=https://www.cathstan.org/local/at-funeral-mass-political-commentator-mark-shields-remembered-as-a-man-of-faith-and-humor-who-believed-politics-is-about-justice |access-date=2024-07-07 |website=Catholic Standard |language=en-US}}</ref>

Shields was a Catholic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/mark-shields-commentator-wore-catholic-faith-his-sleeve-dies|title=Mark Shields, commentator who wore Catholic faith on his sleeve, dies|author=Pattison, Mark|date=22 June 2022|accessdate=31 October 2024|work=National Catholic Reporter}}</ref>

==Death==
Shields died from kidney failure at his home in [[Chevy Chase, Maryland]], on June 18, 2022, aged 85.<ref name="WaPoObit" /><ref name="obit" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/18/1106054812/mark-shields-pbs-newshour-commentator-dies |title=PBS NewsHour commentator Mark Shields dies at age 85 |last=Kim |first=Juliana |date=June 18, 2022|accessdate = June 19, 2022 |work=[[NPR]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* Mark Shields's [http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields.html syndicated column] and [http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields-about.html biography] | Creators Syndicate
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140130185718/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/politics/political_wrap/bio_shields.html Biography] at ''PBS NewsHour'' (archived)
* {{C-SPAN|1429}}

{{Authority control|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Mark}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American journalists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:21st-century American journalists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:American columnists]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American political commentators]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholic writers]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Catholics from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Deaths from kidney failure in the United States]]
[[Category:Harvard Kennedy School staff]]
[[Category:Maryland Democrats]]
[[Category:McCourt School of Public Policy faculty]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:PBS people]]
[[Category:People from Chevy Chase, Maryland]]
[[Category:People from Weymouth, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:United States Marines]]
[[Category:University of Notre Dame alumni]]
[[Category:University of Pennsylvania faculty]]