Former CNN correspondent Charles Bierbauer has died, his family announced on Sunday. He was 83 years old.
Bierbauer retired from CNN in 2001 after two decades covering news in Washington, DC, and around the world.
He joined CNN in 1981 to cover the Pentagon as a defense correspondent. He was then the network’s senior White House correspondent for nine years, covering the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He also served as the network’s senior Washington correspondent, highlighting his deep knowledge of the US presidency, policy and politics.
The veteran journalist traveled with presidents to all 50 states and more than 30 nations, and he served as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association from 1991 to 1992. He also covered presidential campaigns between 1984 and 2000, as well as the Supreme Court.
Bierbauer won an Emmy for his coverage of the 1996 Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. He also anchored CNN’s “Newsmaker Saturday,” a weekly show featuring interviews with top newsmakers, for a decade.
“Charles Bierbauer was a cherished member of the CNN family, who covered everything from the White House and the Pentagon to the Supreme Court during his two decades with the network,” said a CNN spokesperson Sunday. “A tireless reporter and wonderful colleague, Charles will be remembered for his outstanding journalism and his willingness to help others.”
Longtime CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said in a statement Sunday Bierbauer had been a mentor to him.
“Charles inspired me and helped me throughout my assignments at the Pentagon and the White House. He was a good friend, colleague, and mentor, and I will certainly miss him,” Blitzer said.
Before joining CNN, Bierbauer had an extensive career spanning more than a decade as an international journalist. He was the ABC News Moscow bureau chief and correspondent beginning in 1978, and he later served as the network’s bureau chief in Bonn, Germany. He had previously worked in London, Bonn and Vienna for Westinghouse Broadcasting.
Versed in coverage of Eastern Europe during the Cold War, Bierbauer covered all US-Soviet summits, starting in 1975 with President Gerald Ford and the Soviet Union’s Leonid Brezhnev through the 1992 meeting between Presidents George H.W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin.
He started his career as a radio reporter in his native Allentown, Pennsylvania, and later wrote for the city’s local newspaper.
Bierbauer graduated in 1966 from Pennsylvania State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism. He has been recognized as a distinguished alumnus and alumni fellow by the university.
Bierbauer became the first dean of the University of South Carolina’s College of Mass Communications and Information Studies in 2002. He stepped down from the role in 2017.
Bierbauer is survived by his wife Susanne Schafer, a former journalist at the Associated Press, and his four children.
This story has been updated with additional information.
